Shadow War
by Ari Rue
Summary: Dilandau is trapped within Selena's mind and must fight for his identity, but complications arise when an uninvited guest brings back bad memories and a fatal grudge. There's not room for three in that fragile head. Someone has got to go.
1. Shadow War: Part 01

Shadow War: Part 1

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Escaflowne, I wouldn't be content to just write fan-fiction. I would write the script! First, I'd bring back the Slayers, and Dilandau, kill off Hitomi somehow, maybe torture Van a little, bring back Folken, Have Allen and Millerna run away together (forbidden love IS still in style, despite Allen's reservations). . .um, oh yeah! I'd include massive yaoi into the story line (the temptation is just TOO great). But as you well know, Hitomi is alive, Van is alive, Dilandau is. . . not quite alive ::grumble:: Dumb Selena, the Slayers are dead, Jajuka is dead, Folken is dead, LOTS of great bishonen are dead! So, I don't own Escaflowne.   
  
  
The dreams came to her unbidden, as they had since the fall of the Zaibach Empire. Half formed images of the battle field, fallen comrades and foes steeped high in their own blood. Muted shrieks and amplified moans which refused to be silenced in the darkness of the sleeping mind. And the presence, there was always the presence. There were two minds dreaming the same dream, taking in the sights and sounds at different angles, reflecting them back in a tirade of distortions. Just shortly before dawn, they screamed in unison.   
Allen awoke with a jerk, sleep washed away with instant trepidation. Sharp blue eyes unfocused as they tried to gather the meager light the night offered. The candle beside his bed had fizzled down to nothing as he had kept his watch hours earlier. For one night he thought there would be peace within the castle. The shrill cry from down the hall proved him icily wrong.   
It was only seconds before he was at his sister's side, holding her tightly as the remnants of the nightmare settled into the deep recesses of her mind. They would resurface again, as they had done for the last several nights, stealing the peace which she had earned at the war's end. She shook in his embrace, shivering violently, though her skin was hot. Selena buried her face against her brother's chest, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt in frustration. A pitiful sob rose in her throat, "Allen. . .why? Why do I have these dreams?"   
He did not know what to say, only wished he could fend off her demons. Nightmares were not fighters he knew how to defeat; untouchable by the cold steel of the sword, unstoppable with the shield. Silent and intangible, they made a difficult adversary.   
"They have nothing to do with me, my life," she whispered. "Why do they haunt me so?"   
"I do not know," he replied honestly. He could feel her tears bleeding through his shirt, cooling against his skin before drying, only to be replaced with more tears.   
"I can feel him inside of me, Allen," she admitted. "He's in my head, wants to be let out."   
"Dilandau. . ."   
"Yes, him," she croaked. "Allen, please make him stop."   
"I can't."   
"You can! You can do anything. Allen, make him stop. Silence him, erase him, anything," she paused. "Or if you can not, then make me forget about him. Make me forget who I was."   
"I can't. . ." He was not going to cry. He felt the first prick of wetness welling in his eyes but he would not let them spill over. If only to prove to himself that he was stronger than these nightmares, strong enough to somehow beat them. He would not let Selena see his tears. His heart would bleed inwardly for her, away from the rest of the world. "But if there is a way, I will find it."   
Selena smiled a sad little smile against his chest, holding him more tightly. The smile lacked the hope she wanted to pull forth, trembling before it turned into a painful frown. With a whimper the tears continued. They stayed that way, with Allen sitting on the edge of Selena's bed, holding her as she clung to him, until dawn. Sometime just before the sun rose, Selena caught a few moments of elusive sleep. Dreamless and dark, she could sense the other's mind clearly. He was as tired as she, resting peacefully in the dark after his tantrums and dreams.   
The dreams continued for over a month, getting successively more brutal and realistic with each passing night. Selena began to fear the setting of the sun, trying everything in an effort to stay awake through the night. Helpless, she would fall asleep in the early hours of the morning and awake screaming before the sun could rise. The nightmares wore on, creating a tiring pattern of wakefulness and terror filled sleep.   
It was impossible to accept the gory scenes that plagued her slumber. The normalcy of nightly repose all but an impossible wish. Despite constant nightmares, Selena managed to lead the familiar life of a lady, or so was the facade. Fatigue was a regular part of living without sleep, stealing away time she wanted to spend outside with her brother. She fainted at times, found by her brother or a servant, usually lying unconscious in a hallway or on a flight of stairs. Under the best of circumstances they would find her sitting limply in the chairs of various rooms, whatever book or needlepoint she was concentrating on spilt onto the floor. Amazingly she never sustained any injuries from her fainting sprawls. Allen credited that to Dilandau's influence of self preservation and vanity. The caged boy had more domination over Selena than Allen wanted to admit, but there was still no cure for his seemingly malignant presence.   
Doctors had been called in by the dozens, each with a new potion to try, all with spells that promised exorcism of the caged spirit within her. Some of the potions gave her sleep for a few hours, but no more. Other brews just made her sick to her stomach. As for the spells, there were a couple that were relaxing, but most brought pain. As the spell tried to separate Dilandau from Selena, it felt like it was going to rip them to shreds. She would scream and shake and cry with pain as they chanted softly to themselves, hearing in her mind cries more dreadful than her own, echoing loudly.   
As much as Selena wanted to be free of Dilandau, she found out quickly that he was a more integral part of her than the tumor he was viewed as. Separating them was like trying to pull siamese twins apart while they shared vital organs. It would be possible for one to survive only if they were pulled apart the right way, giving the organs to one while the other was left to die. That was what the spells wanted to do with her; separate him out and burn him alive. There were some times she thought she would be torn apart. She could feel him as he huddled into the deepest most corners of her mind. As the spells direction changed from separation to destruction she could feel the fire coursing through her veins, see the fires all around him as be backed against an invisible wall, unable to hide. Dilandau's struggle for life made her feel sorry for him, if only in the smallest way. Her nature would have forbade her immunity to his pain even if they were not trapped together. The fact that she had no choice but to share his pain was only a double reminder.   
"St-stop," she cried, twisting beneath the sheets as another doctor, with another spell, tried to 'cleanse' her. One of the previous ones had tried the same spell, gaining the same response. It felt like he was trying to fish Dilandau out through her nose with a fish hook, not a feeling soon forgotten. She tightened her grip on Allen's hand. "Not. . .working, stop."   
Allen turned to the physician, finding the look in the man's eye almost maniacal in its intensity. Allen cleared his throat. "That will be enough."   
A few more chanted words left the man's lips in a hiss before he stopped, taking a step back. It took him a moment to collect himself. He had had the demon in his grasp, he knew it. "Sir Allen, we are close to-"   
"No," Selena's words were weak. "He would have died within me, and remained. I would have followed him."   
Allen gave the doctor his fee and had a servant escort him out. When the bedroom door closed behind them, Allen spoke. "You don't mean that, do you?"   
"Mean what? Dying?"   
"Yes, about following him."   
Understanding dawned immediately. "It would not have been by choice," she explained sourly, "If that's what you thought I meant."   
Allen had been thinking just that. "No, no I did not think such a thing," he lied. He thought she caught the edge on his voice. He never was good at lying.   
It had become a routine of night vigils and anticipation, uncomfortable but without alternative. Allen was beginning to slowly be worn down by the constant watch he had to hold over Selena, distracted from his duties as a knight and protector of Asturia. Luckily princess Elise understood and accepted the situation as unavoidable. Her understanding, however, did not help to pay for Selena's host of failed treatments.   
Suddenly, without warning, the dreams stopped and Selena began to sleep peacefully at night. She became energetic and lively, as was her true nature, the horrible dreams put behind her. Or so she thought. It could not last though, and after only a week of peace, things turned darker than they had been before. The dreams returned, more horrible and real than ever. But there was another horror added. Now Selena could hear him speaking to her, directly.   
Dilandau's voice rang in her head whenever it pleased him: narrating the dreams, giving them a new substance Selena could not have imagined. She could feel what he felt as he slaughtered people, animals, whatever he wished. The thick blood running down his blade, onto his arm- her arm. The heavy suction created as his sword withdrew from the slain, and the metallic 'thock' of his Alseides claw ripped through an opposing Guymelef's armored cockpit, spearing the pilot within. So many sensations, all of them connected with blood and death.   
When Dilandau began to speak to her during her waking hours, when the sun shone brightly in the sky, she snapped. Thoughts ran through her head at such speeds that they tore themselves apart, leaving fragments, pieces which Dilandau picked up and examined, mocked, crushed even further. He was tired of the game and had to make her slip up. He broke the slender ties that connected Selena with reality one by one, twisted her memories, suggestively filled the gaps with deceit and darkness. He did not expect his handiwork to backfire.   
Within two days of the breakdown, things became difficult for Dilandau himself. His own thoughts became mangled within hers, pieces of them falling around him like autumn leaves. Process turned to panic, reason dissipating to little more than mist. He was losing himself within her. Selena's mind was echoing back his own workmanship upon him. Since he was trapped within her mind, there was no escape. 


	2. Shadow War: Part 02

Shadow War: Part 2

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
It was around three in the morning when Selena stole out of the castle, using the servants' corridors that ran through the back. She didn't know where she was going or why, but moving away from wherever she was seemed like a good idea. Dilandau whispered to her within the din of her frayed mind, claiming all sorts of impossible things, reciting lines of military tactics, holding a conversation with a dead friend. Her mind echoed back at him and herself at once, making her believe there were three entities in her head.   
Down a staircase, through the narrow hall, a left turn and another. Her sense of direction had been shot down with the rest of her, leaving her lost even without a destination. She walked, then ran, then walked a bit more. Fast or slow, speed, caution, speed, leisure. Was she running from something? To something? She didn't know. Tears dripped down her cheeks. Tears of joy? Sorrow? It made no sense. Why was she running, anyway? To where? From where? For what? Oh, so many unanswered questions. ::You in there,:: she thought hopelessly to the other within her head. ::Help me, hold me. Show me the way:: Dilandau hissed back something about a pendant and seeing what could not be seen with sight. He could not help her.   
Fresh air, cool and crisp flew against her face. She had made it outside. ::When did I get out?:: she pondered with great concentration. ::Was I ever in? In where?:: It all seemed completely muddled. Dilandau piqued to attention as the fresh scent of plants and night air struck him through her mind. ::Run, run:: he told her. ::Run or the Dragon will get you! He's here with his sword, coming to cut you. Cut us:: there was a long pause filled with meandering thoughts of her own, uncomprehensible. Then he spoke again. ::His hair is raven dark, eyes warm brown, too warm. Hot eyes, dangerous. The dragon.. .:: So she ran, flying over the grassy landscape, a trained runner, taking from Dilandau's training, fleeing toward the snow.   
The steep mountain trail cut her feet, stiff plants scraping against her bare ankles, where the nightshirt did not reach. There were some trees along the path, gnarled but heavy with leaves, casting pitch black shadows in her wake. She jumped over the shadows, lest they gobble her up. She ran for hours, chest heaving, throat tight and legs aching, until she reached the tree line. She slowed a little as the path turned from gravelly dirt to cold snow, allowing herself a slower pace to avoid slipping. The wan sun peeked over the far horizon, sending a misting of grey light over the path. As the sun reached out with yellow orange rays, Selena was at the mountain's summit.   
Wind whipped around the barren top plateau, smoothing the snow over as it created flurries that made it hard to see ahead. Dilandau was quiet now, sleeping uneasily within her. He had been awake for several days, giving her no rest until now. Running into the night, confusion making his blood sing within imaginary veins, made him concede to rest. Even though he technically did not need sleep, the habit carried over from his earlier life. As he receded into the background, reality came crashing down on Selena instantly. Thoughts that were fragmented when Dilandau was at the forefront came together, their clarity sharp. Thoughts crystalized reality returned with such magnitude that it made her dizzy. She looked down at her torn nightclothes, scratched ankles and deeply cut feet, realizing her error in leaving the castle. There was an instant urge to rail at Dilandau for forcing her out, but part of her knew it wasn't just him. She was messed up beyond repair it seemed and she finally knew it. Allen tried to help, the doctors tried to help, everyone tried. It was no good, she was stuck.   
She fell to her knees heavily, hands clutching at the snow beneath them as the cold wetness soaked into her night gown, wetting her bleeding legs. "Help me. . ." she said, a dry whisper on the frozen plateau.   
The wind howled around her and the snow beat itself against her, but no answer came to her. It was a silent doom and she did not know how to escape. For the rest of her life she would be someone else, and no one else at the same time. She would go crazy, if she wasn't already, and unwillingly torture the brother she loved so dearly. She could feel the helpless yell of anguish working up through her throat.   
She took a few quick, deep breaths, feeling angry and depressed and utterly at the mercy of everything and everyone. "Help me!!" She howled, to the wind, to the snow, to the sky. "Damn you, whoever you are! Help me!!" Sobs and wails lifted skyward as she tilted her hear to stare at the grey sky above; it wasn't even blue. "Someone help me! I beg you, please!! I can't live like this! There's two of me inside. I just want to be Selena Schezar! Free me from this. Kill me! I don't care. Just. . .please. . ."   
In the grey sky high above where she sat, more miserable than she had ever been, a light sparkled for an instant, then was gone. Her eye caught is as it twinkled a second time, turning to a constant shimmer before seeming to explode downward, landing in front of her. The ground shook at the impact, but did not disturb the snow. Selena watched in fascination as it spread outward from a single strand, until the magenta colored light covered a circle of about three feet diameter.   
Then as quickly as it had come, the light faded, leaving behind a slight glow on the being curled on its side in the center. Selena leaned forward to see what it was. A girl, nothing more, nothing less, lay before her. Plain, was the first word that came to mind. The girl was not strikingly beautiful, nor was she ugly. Her hair was long and dark, tied back with a band at the nape of her neck. With skin several shades darker than herself, Selena guessed she was foreign. The girl's clothes made that apparent beyond doubt: loose black pants and a long sleeved green shirt with complex, fire colored patterns swirling around the cuffs and neck.   
At first Selena was at a complete loss. One moment she was railing at whatever would listen for permanent peace and quiet inside her own head, the next she was staring at a strange girl who had fallen from the sky. ::The Gods have lousy jokes, ne?:: Dilandau chuckled drowsily, disappearing from her thoughts as silently as he had come.   
Selena looked at the odd arrival for several minutes after that, pondering her connection to her own situation. All in all Selena thought she looked quite harmless, incapable of saving her from whatever hardship lay ahead. ::Hitomi. . .:: Allen had mentioned her on more than one occasion as 'The girl from the Mystic Moon,' and 'The card reader,'. Could this girl be of a similar caliber? Did she hold the key to her salvation? Or was she a cruel joke wrought by some higher force? Selena didn't know, but she had to admit that when she asked for help, this time, there was not utter silence. "She holds the key," she said out loud, even though her main audience was the sleeping soldier in her mind. Dilandau let out no indication he heard her, but he subconsciously felt his prison shrink around him. 


	3. Shadow War: Part 03

**Disclaimer:**Escaflowne's characters belong to someone other than me  
I'm only borrowing them for this fic and promise to put them   
back when I'm done using them. I'm not making any money off   
this so don't sue. I'm a starving writer anyhow.   
***All non-Escaflowne characters are of my own creation and may   
not be played with without my persmission.***

  
  
  


Shadow War: Part 3

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
  
"Damn you to Hell." It was the fifteenth time Allen had cursed the boy in the last five minutes, and the phrase held no less venom than the last fourteen. He was angry because when he awoke that morning, Selena was gone. Left without word or warning, disappearing into the night like the shadow of a soldier that lurked within her mind. Allen was sure Dilandau had something- no, everything- to do with her odd behavior. But he had to admit, he was angry at himself also, for not watching as closely as he could have. It just made him angry to think of that violent maniac having control over his little sister.   
He and Gadeth rode in silence along the grass covered ridge separating the fields and mountains. The pace was quick and their horses breathed in long deep huffs. The animals were not tired, but the constant movement required the air. It was good exercise for them, being practically unused once the Guymelefs were brought into the war. Grooms exercised them at least twice a week, but the workouts were light. Their muscles weren't what they once had been, but the exquisite feel of ground rushing beneath their hooves compensated for their lack of fitness.   
Selena's trail was hard to follow in the short grass, her body weight barely enough to keep the blades bent after her passing. If she had been on horseback she would have left clear crescent hoof prints in the green, as he and Gadeth left in their own wake. But she had never favored riding; walking gave her pleasure, though it was slower going.   
The pair of trackers crossed over the jagged border between the field and mountains, feeling the different texture of rocky dirt beneath their mounts' hooves. Selena's trail was clearer, left in the light, silty dust at the base of the mountain. Bare foot prints trotting their way directly to the trail. Allen urged his mount into a canter and heard Gadeth do the same. "Selena, what are you thinking?" he said to no one.   
Within minutes the footprints turned from dusty outlines to spots of blood. She had cut herself. ::Or did someone cut her?:: Gadeth pondered. Ahead, Allen broke his horse into a full gallop, the trail easy to follow in the daylight. "Allen!" Gadeth called, following. He had to keep an eye on him, lest his fear for his sister cloud his reasoning. "Allen," he sighed, bringing his mount up beside Allen's. "Do you think maybe some soldiers left from Zaibach brought her up here? Trying to start another war?"   
"Yes," Allen ground out. ". . .And no."   
Gadeth frowned. "Well, that was a clear answer."   
Allen didn't want to explain Dilandau's part in Selena's condition, didn't want to connect her to the monster. It was better not to complicate matters more than they already were. He heard Gadeth spilling his ideas.   
"If it was some Zaibach dog, I bet it was that boy. What's his name? Dilan, or something." Gadeth paused. "We never did find out if he was dead or alive."   
"There's only one set of tracks," Allen reminded him. "She is, or 'was' as it may be, alone."   
"But leaving. . . in the dead of night, sir?"   
"It will be clearer when we find her," he said quietly. "I don't wish to speak on it further until then."   
"Yes sir."   
They crested the mountain top, horses wet with sweat and breathing heavily. It was only two hours since they left the castle. It had taken them less than half the time it had taken Selena to come that far. Snow crunched under the horses' hooves, leaving ringed dents in the whiteness. Selena's tracks were painfully clear, dark scarlet against the cold snow. It didn't take them long to find her.   
She sat in the snow only a few meter's from the end of the trail, holding something large clutched to her chest as she rocked back and forth gently. Wind whipped at her champagne blonde hair, curling it against her face, brushing against her eyes. She stared off into the distance, murmuring prayers and curses under her breath. It was cold, but she was not shivering. The limp body pressed close to her kept her warm, until it was pulled away.   
"No!" was her immediate response, grabbing at the retreating body. "Don't touch her!"   
Allen held Selena back, earning a loud screech in his ear. "Selena!"   
Gadeth held the other girl in his arms, one arm supporting her head while the other cradled her knees. Strange that there would be someone with her. ::Zaibach, perhaps?::   
With slight difficulty, Allen managed to scoop Selena into his arms, surprised as she tried to leap away from him. "Let me go! Release me!" she rambled, tearing at his arms, pushing against his chest. He managed to carry her awkwardly to his horse, tossing her over its back.   
"Selena, stop." he said softly, hoisting himself up behind her. "We're going home."   
"I can't! That's my only hope, I just know it!" She cried, trying to wriggle off. She reached an arm toward Gadeth plaintively. "Give her to me."   
Gadeth sent an uneasy look at Allen, who shook his head. "She rides with you. My horse can't carry three."   
Gadeth set the girl in front of him and mounted, casting a wary glance at Selena. ::Something is really wrong with her:: he told himself. ::So sad to see her like this.::   
"Selena, we're taking her with us," Allen explained.   
"Can't. . . leave. . . her. . ."   
"We're not," he promised. "Gadeth will take care of her until we're home."   
"Don't hurt her. She's the answer to my prayers," she said solemnly. "Without her I'll be like this forever."   
Allen frowned, staring at the petite frame draped over Gadeth's saddle. The last thing he needed was another mystery. For all her knew, the girl was sent to kill Selena, luring her through witchcraft to the mountain. There were many unanswered questions that needed attention, but such a limited number of people to answer them. He would need to think carefully on it and try to understand why Selena felt she was so important.   
  
**********   
  
"I told you, she came out of the sky," Selena insisted for the fifth time. "In a ray of bright light, right in front of me!"   
"But who is she?" Allen drilled. Selena seemed much calmer now that she was safely home in bed, but her story was improbable. The last girl to fall out of the sky was Hitomi, and she had come through with her pendant. This girl wore no such ornament and was definitely not Hitomi. "Why would she have come? How?"   
"I don't know!" she growled angrily. "If I knew, we wouldn't be chasing each other in circles, Allen! All I know is I had to get out of the castle and then I somehow found my way up the mountain and I really felt awful about the whole mind thing and I prayed for help and. . . there she was. Just like that."   
"Selena, I don't know if- "   
"She can save me! She came to me when I called."   
"WHO is she? What is she? From where did she come?"   
"It doesn't matter. She's staying here."   
"No-," he started, cut short by Selena's defiant glare. "Fine, she'll stay here," he conceded, "But she should be watched."   
"Okay," she said, thoughtful. "Where DO you think she came from?"   
"Your guess is as good as mine," he sighed, thoughts turning back to another time when another girl came out of the sky. 


	4. Shadow War: Part 04

Shadow War: Part 4

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
  
Muffled voices filtered into her sleep hazed mind, one deep and masculine, the other young and unsure. ::Must still be at the party:: she thought drowsily. ::Mom is going to have a fit when I get home:: She smiled, unknowingly. ::Oh yeah, high school is finally over. Good graduation party. I wonder who's talking. . . such a nice voice.:: She let sleep reclaim her for a few more minutes, listening to the conversation without really listening to the words. The changing tones were calm, a nice lullaby. ::I wonder what time it is::   
Amber eyes opened slowly, unfocused and dream clouded. Waking up could be such a pain at times. Aristae pulled the blankets up around her shoulders. ::Kind of drafty in here:: she thought idly. Sighing, she let her eyes slide shut once more. The conversation stopped abruptly as she moved, double pairs of eyes focusing on her.   
Aristae felt the weight of their gaze on her, annoying. She defiantly turned her back to them, settling down for a longer nap. ::Stupid boys, staring like that:: That's when it hit her. ::I'm in a bed. I fell asleep on the couch, I think. Did someone move me? Did I. . .?::   
She bolted upright. "Holy Shit!"   
Gadeth and Duran both took a giant step back, hands already on the hilts of their swords. The strange girl was awake.   
Her eyes quickly looked around the room. Stone walls, tapestries, wall sconces with candles, the four poster canopied bed she was in. . . Her attention drew to the men beside the bed. ::What the. . .?:: They wore armor, had swords, and were definitely not party goers. Regaining what senses she could, she smiled at them, covering her confusion. The younger of the two, with sandy brown hair smiled back nervously. The dark haired one kept his face neutral. "Hi." she said in what she hoped was a confident voice. "Where exactly am I? And who the heck are you?"   
It was something out of a fairy tale, or a very sharp acid trip. Aristae found herself among the creatures of legend. Knights in shining armor, complete with swords and a chivalry code; Princesses in long flowing gowns of satin and silk, trimmed with delicate lace and ribbons; above all that, a castle: a full blown, stone walled, high towered castle. There were even stately banners flying at the peaks of those towers, with larger flags billowing in the breeze along the turrets.   
She had stopped paying attention to Duran's historical speech about everything there was to see. He was bringing everything to light from the dinner plates to the rugs on the floor. The dates didn't make sense anyway, different from Earth's years. He was a nice enough guy, but the fervor he held for his country and military had fathomless depth. From what Aristae could gather, she somehow flew off the Earth to some other planet. Impossible but obviously true, since when she looked outside a palace window that faced West she saw a suspiciously familiar shot of the Earth and Moon with the Asia planted squarely in the middle of the cloud swirled mess. "What's this place called again?" she asked absently, staring at an official looking seal above the largest door leading out of one of the courtyards.   
Duran paused in his explanation of the Gaian calender. "The Country of Asturia, specifically the city of Palas, the capital."  
Aristae shook her head. "I mean globally, what planet am I on?"  
Duran smiled politely. He still hadn't been able to figure out a thing about her. It was becoming apparent she was slightly off center in the head. "Gaia, My Lady."  
"Yes, Gaia," she sighed. How odd. One day she was celebrating the end of school, the next she was having a conversation with a young man who called her 'My Lady'. It would make for a good story; as for reality, it was disturbing.  
Duran watched for several minutes as she aimlessly walked the paths that wound through the courtyard garden. Watched her stop to smell a flower, walk a bit further only to stop and study a common snail. It was as if she hadn't seen any of it before. "Do you travel often?" he asked.  
"Hmm?" She continued to stare intently at the snail, watching it look back at her with long antennae eyes. It looked like an Earth snail, only bigger, thicker shelled, and lidded eyes. It blinked adorably at her. ::If snails looked like this at home I would be tempted to keep one as a pet:: she admitted, touching it gingerly with one finger.  
Keeping his newly acquired charge's attention was more difficult than Duran wanted to admit. She was busy looking at everything boring, while he spoke about all things of great relevance to a guest of the court. "Have you been away from Earth many times?"  
"No, this is the first," she mumbled, attention moving to a feathered mouse which had bravely ventured from its nest to sniff at her sneakers. "Oh, how cute," she smiled, reaching to touch the fluffy little thing. It promptly bit her and ran back to the crack in the wall it came from.  
Duran stifled a giggle. "There are dozens of those in the stables. They like to nest in the straw."  
Aristae turned to him for the first time during their palace walk. "Stables?"  
Millerna stood outside Selena's door, waiting for Allen to emerge. After a couple of hours and much muffled arguing, he did. Tired and less than satisfied he closed the door firmly behind him. The new situation was not to his liking.   
"Well?" Millerna asked, moving to walk beside him. "What happened?" Allen looked straight ahead, his mouth a grim line of displeasure. "It would seem my sister summoned a girl straight out of the sky."  
Millerna felt excitement rise in her chest. "Is it Hitomi? Shall we call for Van? He'd be so-"  
"No, not Hitomi," he dismissed, pushing her memory aside. "Someone else."  
"Oh," she said, disappointed. "Oh, I see. . ."  
"Though it looks like a similar phenomenon. The Earth, sky, beams of light. There could be a connection." he fell into muttering, so unlike the Allen that Millerna knew. "I think I need to speak with this Earth girl," he stated firmly, walking away before she could say anything. Millerna turned to follow, but at hearing a muffled gasp from beyond the heavy door she paused. Another sound floated over her ears: conversation.   
She pressed herself against the door, leaning with her ear to the wood. "I hate you, all of you," came Selena's voice. "I am not even myself, thanks to you. I am nothing. I only exist because I will myself to. Do you understand that? If I forget I am separate from you I will disappear. Do you know how that feels? I don't suppose you'd care. No, I don't want your pity. I want my body back."  
Millerna's jaw hung slack as she listened. Dilandau was talking; it had to be him. Opening the door a fraction of an inch she peeked inside. Selena sat in front of her full-length mirror, brushing her hair in sharp, short strokes. Not like a girl would brush their delicate tresses, but as a boy might, tugging out the knots and pulling the rest behind their ears. ::Dilandau is taking over and doesn't even know it:: she realized, stepping back in shock.   
Selena turned sharply to the door, a deep scowl on her face. She didn't miss the princess's the look of shock as she retreated. With a dark little smile she looked back into the mirror, resuming her grooming with much more care, slowly working through the tangles, gently smoothing back the strands. She continued to brush as a girl would, as the new resident in her mind retreated in slow measured steps. 


	5. Shadow War: Part 05

Thank you to everyone who E-mailed me and left reviews. You are   
the people that make writing worth the time and energy.   
I appreciate your every word!  


Shadow War: Part 5

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
  
Dilandau drifted, weightless within Selena's mind. He had no physical body to keep him grounded, though he fashioned himself a transparent, mental counterpart, thinking about his body floating weightless, curled up with his knees tucked to his chest, encircled by his arms. He pretended he was still in the real world, garbed in his heavy armored uniform, even in sleep. That was one advantage to being a completely mental entity: the armor had no weight. He was a ghost, pretending to close eyes he didn't have to get sleep he didn't need. He rationalized that mental fatigue had nothing to do with physical limitations and that sleep was necessary to recoup energy lost in thought. It was also an easy way to pass time, which he had in mass quantity now.   
He could catch glimpses of what Selena was thinking at particular moments when she was awake. It was easier to infiltrate her mind when she was at rest, let his own thoughts rule for a few brief hours. Dilandau liked to scare her and watch her reactions to the things he did. Sometimes he showed carnage he caused during the war, other times it was a concoction of fantasy and violent desires which he put on display. He was getting rather good at using his imagination.   
He allowed himself to leave the sleep state, looking around the black void. It wasn't really black, nor was it a void. That was the way he preferred to see it. He found it more acceptable than the grassy fields of fond memories Selena kept at the forefront of her mind. That plane made him feel hazy, like he was out of place. It made him forget his situation and the dangers that accompanied it. He had almost lost himself there once. No, the void was a much better setting to preserve his sense of self, even if it was less natural.   
Somewhere close he could hear a new voice, stronger than his own in Selena's mind. It was not her, the undertones were darker, lacking the high morals she thought with, lived with. A creature, less than human, more than animal, was with him inside her head. "Who's there?" he called into the blackness, stretching until he felt his foot find the imaginary floor. "Hiding is impossible."   
Laughter, dark and sneering leeched out of the darkness around him. "Oh, but I'm so good at it," came the raspy reply. "After all, I've been hiding since my birth."   
"What. . .?"   
"I have been so many people and things. It's hard to tell where the facade stops and I begin."   
"Who are you?" he shouted, turning on heel as he felt something brush the back of his neck.   
"But then, it was easy enough to tell the difference between their deaths and mine," it said thoughtfully. "Even though I played each one of them, their deaths did not give me pain."   
"This is nonsense," Dilandau muttered. But beneath his disavowal of the words, a knot of dread was forming in the pit of his stomach.   
"My death was much different. You gave me pain beyond anything I had ever felt before. Took my life in a slow dance of twisting metal."   
"Do you speak to Selena or me?" he asked cautiously, knowing the answer.   
"The girl has killed no one. Except for perhaps you. But the job is not complete yet, might never be. She is weak, and now so are you, Dilandau!"   
"I do not die so easily," he stated calmly. "I remember you, now."   
"Not really," the voice hissed. "You remember that boy I killed. That which gave you reason to kill me. But you do not dare think of my face."   
It was a true statement. He was thinking about Migel's face instead of the striped creature with the hollow green eyes that strangled his soldier to death. "You have no face!" "Are you afraid I will come out of the dark shadows you have constructed around you? I could, you know."   
The whole idea of Zongi being there was wrong. Zongi taunting him was even more so, considering where they were. Yet, the other's confidence, with his words, his threats, quickly undermined his own. Dilandau felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. It wasn't right. "You are no one! Nothing!"   
"And now, so are you!" it accused. "You have no face to call your own, no form. You are just as faceless as I was in life," It calmed, "That is quite ironic."   
"I remember who I am."   
"As do I. I remember who BOTH of us are. And because I remember, I will take what is left of your life, and the life of this girl in order to live again."   
It was Dilandau's turn to laugh, if nervously. "You can not take life without a body."   
"If there can be a body without life, then surely there is life without a body. That is what you are, isn't it?" it cooed.   
"You tell me, all knowing freak of nature!" he called mockingly, giving a deep bow to the shadows. "If you can take life from me, then it must work both ways."   
"No, I'm afraid it doesn't." And with that, the shadow descended upon him, staring coldly through his soul with hollow green eyes. 


	6. Shadow War: Part 06

Shadow War: Part 6

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
  
Duran was quite pleased with himself. Aristae found the stables enthralling, giving him a chance to talk about something she would actually pay attention to. "That's Eluna," he said as he watched Aristae reach out to touch the horse's muzzle. Duran didn't know all the horses' names, but Eluna was Millerna's mount and quite distinctive. The mare was white, with dark spots around her eyes and on her rump, matching her bushy mane and tail of similar color.  
Aristae looked down the double row of stables, smiling widely. "They're beautiful." she breathed.  
Duran chuckled. "Have you no such beasts on Earth?"  
Aristae shook her head. "No, there are horses kind of like these. But they are more delicate in the legs and neck, more refined." The black gelding stabled beside Eluna lifted his lips in a wide horsey grin. "But I think these horses are smarter." The big black nodded his head quickly, as if he understood. Eluna watched on with mild interest.  
"I think he likes you." Duran admitted, petting the large, dark muzzle affectionately.  
"What's his name."  
"I don't know. He's only been here a short while. Taken from Zaibach as reparation for war damages to Asturia."  
"Is he really that valuable? I mean, to repay an entire war." she asked in awe. "Of course not. He came with hundreds of other horses, livestock, and gold seized from the capital. He is probably not very valuable at all."  
"I see." Aristae murmured, scratching behind the dark one's ears. She could hear one of his hooves striking the ground softly in time to her scratches. "You're just like a dog." she told him.  
Duran laughed with her and began to lead further into the barn. There were so many other barns to go through; this only being the third. However, when Allen Schezar stepped into the barn through the open double doors, Duran knew that the castle tour was over.  
"Sir!" he exclaimed, saluting sharply.  
Allen nodded and motioned for Duran to leave. He did so without another word, leaving Aristae without explanation. Allen walked up quietly behind her, watching her fawn over her new found friend. "Do you like him?" he said gently, putting out his hand for the horse to smell.   
Aristae withdrew, only glancing up at the tall blonde man who had replaced Duran. "He seems to be nice."  
"My name is Allen Schezar, Heavenly Knight of Asturia," Allen began, "Protector of the realm and pilot of. . ." her attention was already back on the horse, cooing to it sweetly. ". . .and you're not interested in any of it," he finished quickly. ::Very different::  
"I'm Aristae Tares and I'm from San Diego."  
"San Diego? Is that your country?"  
"No, city. The country is The United States of America" She looked him straight in the eye. "On Earth." she added for good measure.  
He thought a few seconds, trying to place this 'United States' with the geography Hitomi had described to him one evening. It was next to useless. "Is that near Japan?"  
::Japan? Where did THAT come from?:: "No, Japan is on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Very far from where I live."  
"Ah," He should have known better. "I see."  
"Why do you ask?"  
"I knew someone from Japan," he admitted. "She fell to Gaea like an angel, and flew back without a word to me."   
"I guess I'm not the first to visit from Earth." she said, a little disappointed. She liked the idea of 'going where no earthling had gone before'.  
"We call it the Mystic Moon, here on Gaea." he mentioned. Every time she said 'Earth' he pictured some alien planet instead of the large orb which hung low in the Gaean sky. Aristae felt like telling him it was a bonafide planet and not a moon, but bit her tongue in an effort at exercising the rusty manners she kept under wraps most of the time. Allen was older than she by several years and deserved respect, theoretically of course. "Sounds so exotic," she said at last.  
"It's supposed to be cursed," he said sternly.  
"It isn't cursed! I happen to live there!!" she growled between clenched teeth. ::So much for manners::  
"I know. It's superstition. Hitomi proved to me that her home had no curse."  
"Hitomi? Was that the other Ear- Mystic Moon girl?"  
"Yes," he breathed, wishing that Aristae had been her, returning. ::Enough, Schezar. Talk of something else.:: "My sister is ill," he said without thinking, immediately shocked at his words.  
"Sorry to hear that." Aristae said easily. Allen was losing her attention to the horse again.   
"She thinks you can help her," he ventured, scanning her face for a reaction.  
Without turning, Aristae's eyes passed from the horse to Allen's face, locking with his eyes. "Why does she think that?"  
"When you fell to Gaea you landed at her feet," he explained. "She thinks you're her savior or something."  
::New news on me:: She smiled nervously. "I don't know what I could do. I'm not a doctor."  
"She doesn't need that kind of healing," he said quickly. "We already tried it."  
"Then what kind of healing does she need?" ::I don't like where this is heading:: she thought tensely.  
"It's kind of a long story." he confessed, glancing at the horse. "Do you know how to ride?"  
"Yes, I've been riding since I was seven," she said. "My parents thought it would keep me out of trouble."  
"Did it?" he queried.  
"Hardly," she laughed. "My horse and I were partners in crime."  
Allen lifted a delicate blonde eyebrow at that, but did not comment. "I'll have the grooms saddle up two horses and I can show you around Palas," he offered. "It will also give me time to tell you of my sister's condition."  
"I would like that very much," she said warmly, taking the arm he offered.   
  
  
"I bet you wonder how I came to be inside Selena's head, hm?" Zongi whispered, feeling his companions discomfort. Dilandau's stomach churned sourly as he listened, threatening to make him sick. "It's a good question," he said, amused.  
Dilandau stood in stony silence, arms stiffly crossed as he fought to keep his head held level. For some reason it wished to bow to his chest, leaving him to look at the ground. Keeping it up was a hard won battle, yielding a neck ache.   
A frown etched its way across Zongi's lips. He felt like Dilandau wasn't giving his full attention. "You let me in."  
Dilandau narrowed his eyes menacingly, still and quiet as a alabaster statue. Zongi noticed the meager amount of color drain from his face. ::White as a ghost:: he thought, smiling inwardly. ::How fitting::   
"That night, when you- or should I say Selena, fled the castle, I watched you run. I followed, and when you spoke to her, distracted her further into the fever of your thoughts, I entered."  
"That's not my fault then," Dilandau said pointedly. "I didn't invite you."  
"You left the door open, I just took the step."  
"I hope that step is your last!" Dilandau snarled. "You may have walked in, but only your blood will trickle out!"  
Zongi bared his teeth in mock aggression, egging Dilandau's wrath forward. Then he let a peal of laughter spill, followed loudly with howls of the sound. ::Dilandau, you don't realize the peril of your straits. No matter, I will teach you . . .::   



	7. Shadow War: Part 07

Shadow War: Part 7

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
  
Aristae found Palas to be quite interesting. The outlying area she and Allen traveled to get to the actual town was a wide stretch of grassy plain cut into pieces by dirt roads. The lush vegetation was dark and moist, bending at mid-stem to stand a little above ankle height. Allen's horse didn't seem interested in the succulent feast on the ground, just a neck stretch away. The buckskin colored gelding looked on ahead, a leisurely trot tapping out its rhythm.   
Aristae's mount, the black gelding, was a different story all together. He tugged on the reins, clamping the bit between his molars as he reached for the flora beneath his hooves, trying to keep up with Allen's horse at the same time. It made for an awkward half walk. The gelding's front feet plodded slowly, walking, while his back legs skipped along, eager to stay with the other horse.  
Aristae gave a hard tug on the reins. "Stop that!"  
The horse brought his head up with a jerk, snorting with annoyance. He then proceeded to trot in earnest, overtaking the buckskin. As she passed, Aristae could see a small smile tightening the corners of Allen's mouth. It was not funny!  
"Your horses certainly are hot."  
He tapped his horse's sides, bringing him to a ground covering jog. "Hot? What do you mean?"  
She pulled the reins tighter, looping them around her hands. "High, spirited, too much energy."  
"Would you like to switch? Perhaps Eiji would give you less trouble."  
"No," she half growled, turning the black in a tight circle to punish him. "I'm fine."  
"As you say," he chuckled, watching her pirouette with the undisciplined animal.  
"You should name this thing Demon!" she exclaimed, finally bringing him to a halt.   
"Why do you say that?" he joked. "He looks perfectly well behaved to me. He's even standing still."  
She gave him a noncommital glare, urging her horse to motion once more. He still wanted to veer off and eat the day away, but was not so adamant at following his own wishes. He kept his eyes on the sweet grass on the roadsides, but obediently continued forward. Allen followed close behind.   
As they crested a shallow rise in the road, Aristae got her first glace of Palas. Wall of white surrounding stately, tall buildings of stone and wood. A spire rose above them all, with a elaborately carved top, visible even as far back as she and Allen were. As the afternoon sun slanted through the tower, the dull silhouette of a bell was just discernable. Beyond lay a wide blue strip of ocean, shimmering with flecks of golden light.   
Her visit was becoming more and more like a fairy tale. A picturesque city by the sea, proud and strong. As her heart leapt at the beauty of it, she thought she just might wake up then and there, back in her own bed, in her own room, on Earth. When seconds passed and no jolt to the real world passed, she smiled. The sun was still warm on her face, the smells of the fields and pale scent of the ocean still clear in her nose, her horse still impatient beneath the saddle. No, not a dream, reality.  
She smiled brightly, wheeling her horse around to circle Allen's. "I'll race you to the gate."  
"I would not want you to fall." he warned. "I would have a hard time explaining if I brought you back injured."  
"Hard time with who?" Aristae play-whined. "It's not like I'm royalty or anything."  
"My sister would be quite upset."  
She pondered a moment, looking thoughtfully into the clear sky. "Then I guess I had better not fall off!" With that, she took off.  
Allen watched her bound off, kicking up a cloud of dust as her horse happily worked off some extra energy. He wasn't sure whether to curse or laugh. Kicking his horse he followed, surprised as a wide grin spread across his face. It was fun despite the concern that something might happen to the girl. His worry melted quickly as he focused on the dark horse's tail, several yards ahead. "I'm coming to get you, Aristae," he said. "Ready or not."  



	8. Shadow War: Part 08

Shadow War: Part 8

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
  
Ice crept into his limbs with slow precision, traveling along his fingers, through his bones like frost. It was an unnatural invasion of the flesh that wove its frightening tendrils from the inside. The cold did not bring numbness as it worked its way through his body, inching through the veins in his neck, down across his chest. Like jagged shards it stung as it spread, cutting through muscle, cracking bone. "I will kill you," Dilandau growled unevenly, refusing to shiver outright.  
Zongi smiled in the darkness, light glinting off the cusp of his lip, glancing over a sharp cheekbone. "No, but I will gladly kill you."   
The light was imagined, as were the circumstances of Dilandau's slow demise. It was a silent game of will and ignorance. As long as Dilandau didn't realize the pain he felt was artificial, Zongi could continue to hurt him. Since Dilandau didn't know he could fight back, his violent thoughts had no bite. Thoughts were powerful only if the thinker knew he could give them form.   
"Does it hurt, much?" Zongi cooed. "Is it cold?"  
Dilandau willed his arm to strike out at the despised creature, knowing it lacked the vitality to move. "I hate you," The punch halted mere centimeters from where it began, locked in an unseen brace of ice.   
"And I hate you also, strange coincidence," he said with light sarcasm. "But it seems my hate is stronger, for you are at my mercy."  
Dilandau had no comment for that. He shifted his eyes to look somewhere else, into the deep void. Somewhere he had a nagging feeling that he wasn't as helpless as Zongi wanted him to believe, but most of him was shoving the situation in his face. He was powerless.  
"I could have done away with you painlessly," Zongi said thoughtfully, mimicking one of Dilandau's gleeful expressions. "But it just wouldn't have the same effect. It would be too easy for you."  
"I will not give in to your pain," he seethed, squirming in an effort ro break free. He could hear his stiff tendons groan under the stress of motion, like old leather straps pulled taut. Blades of cold made cuts in his muscles, while bones splintered, all beneath the skin.   
"Yes, please move," Zongi whispered, loud enough for Dilandau to hear. "Twist and bend until you rip yourself to pieces."  
Dilandau fought harder, stopping only as he felt the loud 'POP' of his spinal column snapping. With a gasping cry he lay still, breath labored, body unearthly still.  
"Oops," Zongi sang. "I think you may have broken something vital."  
"It doesn't matter," he panted. "I have no body."  
"Sounds good, but I don't think you mean it."  
"You try to deceive, but I'm not fooled. I am alive." he shouted. Zongi made the words bounce back off unseen walls, echoing clearly.  
As the words came back at him a second time, then a third and more, Zongi listened with mock intensity. He stared at Dilandau's face, watching his reaction. "Sounds unconvincing, doesn't it."  
"I'm alive!" Dilandau shrieked.   
  
  
Somewhere in the castle at Palas, a young woman crouched in the corner of her chambers, hands clamped to her ears as she screamed her existence to the world.   
  
  
The market was wonderful. The sounds, the people, the exciting clamber of words and wares carried along on the light evening breeze. Spicy smells and fishy smells, herbs and perfume, all swirling together into the atmosphere of stalls and venders.   
Allen maneuvered his horse through the bustling crowd with care, glancing back every few seconds to make sure Aristae was following closely. She was, but with constant discipline of her horse. The disobedient gelding had his head gravitating toward every fruit and vegetable stand they passed, trying to grab something with his lips. Each yank Aristae gave on the reins reminded him of his manners, but only until they passed the next delicious looking shop. Of course Allen's horse didn't give the food a second glance, proud and aloof he worried more about keeping people out from underfoot than anything else.  
When they emerged from the thickest part of the market, Allen gave a sigh of relief. They had both made it through alive, without injury to anyone else. It was an accomplishment, considering the multitude of people. He would have preferred a different route, but the market was the only way to get to the sandy cove from the East gate. If he had thought about it, he would have led Aristae around to the south gate, where the streets had little traffic.  
"That was fun!" Aristae chirped, sounding much like a young sister he once had. "Can we do it again? I mean, now that I know it's survivable?"  
"No," Allen said with false annoyance. "We might not make it out alive next time."   
"Aw...no fun."  
"I want to show you the cove, it is quite lovely at sunset."  
"I'm game!"  
Allen looked puzzled. "What?"  
With a nervous laugh Aristae dismissed it. "Never mind. To the cove?"  
Allen nodded, sending his horse onward.  



	9. Shadow War: Part 09

Shadow War: Part 9

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
  
A long, slender finger slid along the dark scar that ran along Dilandau's cheek, tender and light in its touch. "Such a pretty face. I would like to wear it."  
"Fuck off," Dilandau managed darkly. The cold was gone, left to dissipate from a slow thaw, leaving the clammy, soggy feel behind. His back throbbed painfully, nearly overriding the matching pangs in his chest and limbs. Every little tear within him was felt in precise measure. He could even feel the blood seeping from the wounds, beneath the skin in sickening cadence.  
"You don't want me to take your face?" Zongi said in surprise. "Such a waste!"  
"Better wasted than yours."  
"That is quite true, Dilandau," Zongi smiled wickedly. "And I will take pleasure in wasting it so that not even you can enjoy it."  
The finger that was almost lovingly stroking his scar curled, the nail biting into the top edge of the healed wound. Blood welled around the finger as it struck deeper, gouging into the soft flesh beneath. Dilandau remained very still as the claw pulled lower, opening the gash anew, a wide, jagged trench in his face.   
"You are too quiet. I want to hear you beg." Zongi brought the nail to rest against Dilandau's left temple, dragging it slowly across his forehead. The skin parted with ease, showing a sliver of the skull not far beneath. "Beg for me, Dilandau."  
There were more cuts than he could count, blood dripping down his face in rivers, stinging as it ran into his eyes, pooling there before spilling over like scarlet tears, running down, staining his silvery hair. He had cuts on his arms and legs also, but none so many as on his face. Zongi carved him royally. He feared that if he moved too much the skin would just slip off his face, leaving him a bloody, muscle patched skull. As Zongi neared for another round, gingerly picking a wide slice of skin off of his victim's face, Dilandau opened his mouth to speak.   
Blood flowed past his lips in a thick wash, making him choke noisily. Zongi seemed to enjoy that immensely. Swallowing his own blood down and licking aside the pools that waited at his mouth, Dilandau tried again. "I- I- no more."  
"Hmm? What was that?"  
"I- stop this."  
"Oh, Dilandau. You need to tell me more."  
A single tear rolled down his cheek, unseen under the thick streams of blood. "Stop. . . cutting me. I- I can't take this anymore. You've wrecked m-my face. The damage is done."  
"But I am not," he rasped, wiping his hand messily around Dilandau's bleeding face. Enjoying the tightly shut eyes and grimace of pain it earned him. "Done, that is."  
"But- "  
"You are so different when you're defenseless," Zongi observed. "You're actually whining."  
"Just take me and get it over with." he whimpered, staring up into the blackness. "Kill me."  
Zongi was silent for a long moment. So long, that Dilandau began to wonder if he just decided to leave him alone. ::Or maybe I'm dead.:: Dilandau wondered, relieved at the stark prospect.   
"No," was the patronizing voice that cut through his thoughts. "You are not dead. And I will not put you out of your well deserved misery, just yet."  
"Why not?" His whisper sounded like a tiny squeak to his own ears. Tears threatened to well up, but he found he could not find enough moisture in his eyes to let them free.  
"Because," he said slowly. "You have a pretty body to go with your pretty face."  
Realization did not dawn until Dilandau felt his clothes being removed. One piece at a time with measured slowness. The blood made the fabric stick to him in places, peeling back with drying tackiness when Zongi pulled on them. "You can't!" Dilandau yelled, tossing his head from side to side as the rest of his body complied without resistance.  
"I can," he assured him. "Believe me."  
  
  
As they neared the castle, with its torches already ablaze at every entrance, Aristae found her excitement over it greatly diminished. The towers were still tall, the banners still proudly blowing in the night wind, but the initial enchantment had worn off somehow. ::It only took a day:: she mused, following Allen past the main gate to the stables.   
After dismounting, Allen offered his hand to Aristae, who took it, gently sliding from the saddle. She really didn't need help, but since he offered, it seemed rude to refuse. Grooms led the horses away to be brushed before they were returned to their stables. The black gelding snorted harshly, realizing he had missed the evening feed. Eating late was not among his favorite events.   
"Are you hungry?" Allen asked, leading her toward the inner courtyard.  
"Quite," she admitted. "What's for dinner?"  
"Gaeans don't eat dinner." he teased, "We only eat at dawn."  
The grin on his face told Aristae he wasn't serious. "Earthlings eat all the time. I will waste away to nothing without food."  
"Then we shall get you some," he promised, holding her hands in his. "For I can't bear the thought of you wasting away."   
They stayed in the courtyard a few minutes longer, talking of all kinds of inconsequential things, until Gadeth appeared at the East gate. He waited patiently for the Moon girl to finish her sentence before he spoke, "Sir, your presence is needed at Selena's quarters. She is not well."  
Allen nodded, giving Aristae with a sad, pleading look. She had already said she didn't know how to help her, but he silently asked again. His light blue eyes searching her face for assurances he knew were not there.  
Aristae looked up at him, her amber mirrors sad and sorry. With a short sigh she disentangled her hands from his and looked away. He gazed a bit longer, waiting for her to respond. She shrugged, "I don't know how to help."   
His chest tightened uncomfortably. To hide his disappointment he stiffly walked away from her, ordering Gadeth to get her some dinner and make her comfortable in her room. He then hurried to his sister's side, as he had done so many times in the last month. 


	10. Shadow War: Part 10

Shadow War: Part 10

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
Notes: Chapter 13 is fast approaching, and I may have found a Beta! Then again, maybe not- she hasn't agreed to take the job just yet. Keep your fingers crossed or we'll have a BIG cliffhanger that may last for days . . . weeks. . . months. . . are you scared yet? ^_~  
  
  
The bed was large and downy, the comforter thick and plush, a beautiful blue velvet. The night was slightly chilled, but not cold. A light breeze touched with the scent of the sea wisped through her window, fresh and moist. It was a perfect night for sleep; not cold, not hot, just nice and quiet. But try as she might, the minute her eyes closed they because restless, opening to the darkness around her once more. ::Maybe I'm not tired:: she thought, shifting beneath the thick blankets. Her legs were beginning to get the familiar ache from horse back riding, tight and tingling along her legs. She curled her toes lazily and stretched, breathing a half yawn through her nose. Her eyes drooped easily. ::I am tired:: she decided, rolling onto her belly in an effort to get comfortable.   
Minutes passed unnoticed until the night watch called from a turret above her window, "Nine o'clock and all is well."  
A few other voices joined after the first, successively further away, reporting the peace of the night. It was enough to open her eyes again, breaking the spell she was slowly tricking herself into. Once again, sleep seemed miles away. ::Nine o'clock and Aristae is AWAKE!!:: she thought viciously, burrowing deeper beneath the comforter. The sweet scents of wool and lavender surrounded her, luring her back to drowsiness. Sleep was just outside her reach, but came closer with each breath.   
Someone was outside her door, scuttling around on the tightly woven hall rug running down its center. He coughed loudly in passing, clearing his throat before continuing on his way. Sleep retreated again, unwilling to go in for the kill.   
Aristae wished for the first time that day she was back at home, in her own room, on her waterbed, beneath her fuzzy blankets, looking at the car lights reflecting off her wall as they drove by. She much preferred tracing the patterns the lights followed to counting imaginary sheep. When she tried counting sheep one evening they ended up baaing incessantly, keeping her awake and giving her a head ache for the day to come. Sheep were not made for counting.  
When the night guard called midnight, Aristae could barely hear him. Sleep had gotten tired of waiting and had finally moved in. She let it take over, relaxing all her muscles, greying her thoughts. She dared not think about falling asleep, focusing instead on what Allen had told her about Selena. ::Poor girl. . .I wish there was. . .something. . .I could. . . . . .do. . . . .:: sleep won the battle by forfeit.  
Zongi was pleased with himself and his accomplishments. He had done almost everything to Dilandau that he had dreamed of since the night Dilandau took his life. It felt good to hear him beg for death, and whimper in the most pathetic way. Dilandau didn't cry, but he figured the pent up emotion added to his pain. "All the better," he had said as Dilandau fought against him.  
But Dilandau wasn't fighting now. He lay on his side, breath slow and shaky, staring blankly outward, begging for Selena to hear his pleas. He had no one else to turn to, she was the only one who could hear him. His mind brushed gently against hers, instead of stabbing into it like in the past. Thoughts touched her softly, wanting nothing more than for her embrace him, not caring if he lost his identity within her.   
His gentle touch was denied, coming to face a wall of slick glass. It was the color of smoked mirrors and his words slid down like rain, puddling at the base. "Please," he whispered aloud. His lips were caked with dried blood and cracked as he spoke. "Please," he said again, softer, even though it was meant to be loud.  
Zongi pulled Dilandau closer, pressing the boy's back against his chest, the sticky feel of blood between them. Dilandau shivered convulsively, unable to worm away from the touch. Zongi knew he was talking to Selena, had read his thoughts before Dilandau could even try to voice them. It was another opportunity to reap revenge. He smiled stiffly against the back of Dilandau's neck and felt the other's breath catch. "Please? Please what, Dilandau?"  
Zongi was beginning to like saying his name. The sound made Dilandau incredibly uncomfortable, he could feel it.  
Zongi's stroked the flat belly beneath his hand, reveling in the little bits of skin that snagged as he passed over them. Long scratches, scrapes, and gouges in the skin, no longer slick with blood but still fresh with pain. The ghost buried his face in Dilandau's stained hair, sniffing the scent he imagined would be there, feeling the gore stiffened strands graze his cheek. "You want me to do it again," he accused, snaking his hand between Dilandau's lean thighs.   
Dilandau's eyes cleared, wide with fear. "No," he said timidly.  
"Oh," Zongi purred, "Too bad, because I want to."  
Aristae awoke to the sound of screaming. Not one, but two voices assaulted her sleeping ears. One carried from beyond the door, down the hall, shrill and heartbreaking. Torn from a throat tired of crying, wretchedly full of sorrow. It was a plea and answer in one, no help came to her but her brother, who could do nothing for her.  
The other was a howl of pain, loosed within the confines of Aristae's mind. It was what initially woke her, the long, loud call from her dreams. Deeper than the scream that followed on its heels, it was a different voice with separate agonies. Aristae did not have any visual recollection of her dream. It had been drowned out by the mirrored screams around her. She remembered it was dark, the atmosphere thick and tangible. Beyond that, very little was clear.  
She wished there was something she could do. Run to Allen's side, help his sister? She had no idea what help she could offer. Support? Guidance? The ideas that came to her were extinguished in the same breath. ::Confusing. . .:: No, she corrected herself. It was not as confusing as it was disheartening. ::I get called to another planet to help someone, and I don't know what I can do.:: Her eyes slid shut resolutely. She would think on it in the morning. 


	11. Shadow War: Part 11

Shadow War: Part 11

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
Notes: I have a BETA!!!!!! Thank you Geri!! Finally I can continue to write and post chapters! Thank you to all who have given feedbak and E-mailed me, I really appreciate it. Anyways, on with the story!!!   
  
  
Sun trickled through the curtained windows in thin shafts, slowly dancing on the floor as the fabric swayed to the early breeze. Allen watched the light play on the rug, running along the red and gold threads, tracing the edge of an intricate rose pattern. A strong sigh built within, ready to rush from his lungs in abject defeat. He managed to diffuse it into a long, thin breath. It made his chest hurt a little, but was easily ignored against the greater throbs of his head and stinging of his eyes.   
He held Selena in his lap as he sat on the bed, legs crossed neatly beneath him. Her head cradled by his shoulder, her body hugged close. She was asleep, finally. Only two hours before, they had been crying together, desperate to make it all stop. Only now did Allen's thoughts turn to Aristae. She was supposed to fix this, wasn't she? That's why she was there in the first place, to help Selena. ::How come she doesn't know how?:: The thought irked him. A miracle was what they needed, and Aristae didn't look like a miracle. He had to find real help, before Selena's endurance failed completely.   
Aristae awoke early and found breakfast waiting for her on the window seat. Some sweet mushy stuff, fresh fruits, and a steaming cup of spiced milk. She ate it without much notice, too preoccupied with thoughts to examine the Gaian food closely. It tasted good, that was enough.   
"I need to go for a ride," she told herself, munching on an apple-like fruit slice. "I need to get a different angle."  
A tug on the door handle made it apparent she was not supposed to leave her room. Either they didn't trust her, or they didn't want her to fall into undue trouble. Whatever the reason, she felt it akin to being grounded. "Locked," she turned on heel to let herself fall against the heavy door, arms crossed. "And I thought things like this would end with high school."  
The door made a small clicking noise and opened, making Aristae do a half stumble to keep from falling. "Hey, watch it!" she said automatically, turning to face the intruder.  
"Sorry," Duran replied, stepping in. "I heard you knock and thought you wanted to come out."  
"I do!" she said happily, stepping around him.  
::Strange girl:: Duran thought, following her through the hall, down the steps, and out to the stables.  
"Personally I think she's possessed by a demon," Duran said confidently. "With all the magic workers Sir Allen hired, what else could it be?"  
"Maybe this 'demon' wants out as much as Selena wants it gone."  
"Then why hasn't it left?"  
"It can't? I don't know," Aristae sighed, frustrated. ::Like I'm supposed to know::. She focused on a grassy hill in the distance, trying to reorganize what Allen had told her. Duran wasn't much help, considering he had accused Selena of witchcraft, in confidence of course. ::Think Tae, think:: she chanted.   
A hard jerk on the reins pulled her from her thoughts. "What the- Hey!" Her gelding shied dangerously to the left, nearly losing his balance before taking off in a dead run. Caught off balance, Aristae nearly tumbled off his back, saved only by the looped reins. "Duran!" She chanced a worried look behind her.  
Duran held tightly to his horse's mane as it reared in terror, leaning forward to stay aboard. As it came down he glanced in the direction Aristae had been taken and saw the gelding disappear into the forest bordering the field. He urged his mount forward, but the horse wouldn't take a step. Instead the animal took advantage of the lax reins and lowered her head, bucking madly. Duran toppled from the saddle on the second heave, arcing over the horse's neck before landing flat on his back. From the ground, Duran watched his horse follow Aristae's path.   
It was several minutes before he trusted himself to stand. He was unsteady and sore, with wide bands of scraping down his back from the fall. His left side felt worse than his right, especially his shoulder. ::I hope nothing is broken:: he thought. ::I hope the girl is okay:: He headed after the horses, a slight limp hindering his progress.   
"Slow- down-! Slow- down-!" Aristae growled as the horse's choppy gait bounced her around. "You- dumb- horse! -STOP-!"  
As if the command was all he needed, the gelding came to a screeching halt. It would have been good, except he had stopped at the bank of a pond. Mud slick hooves continued forward without being lifted, sending both horse and rider into the water. Wet and scared, the gelding made a frantic attempt to rear, lost his footing and was forced to twist to the side to stay upright.   
The last jerking twist did it. Aristae found herself catapulted backward into pond. Water swirled around her in muddy torrents as her horse scrambled for better footing. Gritty sand, stirred from the bottom, flew around her, blinding. ::Don't get kicked by the horse:: she warned herself, just as she felt a hoof swim come within centimeters of her head. It probably would have hit her, if her boot hadn't caught on something, holding her back. She tried to kick off the weed, or whatever it was, losing her boot in the process. She swam to the surface without it.   
Air was never more welcomed than then, and she filled her lungs with it eagerly. From the bank the gelding watched, hoping the soggy creature didn't decide to ride him home. He was wet enough already. As their eyes locked, Aristae frowned, "Stupid horse! What's wrong with you?" She made a half hearted attempt to swim to shore, stopping after only a few strokes to yell some more, "First you run for no reason, then you stop for no reason, then you fucking shake me off for no reason!! And to think I thought you were intelligent! Oi!"  
The gelding gave a mighty dog shake, spraying water in all directions. With a whinny and another good shake he managed to make the saddle slide down to rest against his left side.   
"I suppose you had a reason for doing that?" she mused sarcastically, feeling around for the bottom with her toes. All she hit was squishy mud.  
"Aristae? My lady? Are you alright?" Duran called from the forest.  
"I'm here!" she replied, sounding more helpless than she meant to.   
Duran broke through the trees in a huff, leaves in his hair and dirt on his face. "Are you hurt?"  
She shook her head quickly. "I'm fine, just lost my boot."  
Duran managed to grab hold of the gelding's reins, holding him still. "Shall I retrieve it for you?"  
"No, I'll get it," she said, wading back out. "It must have come untied earlier." With that she dove under, opening her eyes to the now surprisingly clear water. The boot lay a few feet ahead of her, several feet lower. ::I need more air for this:: she realized, surfacing. She took a deep breath and held it, diving straight down. With wide swipes of her arms and powerful kicks, she headed toward the boot. ::I don't remember being out so far:: she thought. ::How did it get over there?:: It was down deeper than it seemed, and took quite a bit of energy to reach.  
::Gotcha!:: she mentally cheered, looping two fingers through the laces. ::They're still tied:: she realized, tugging on the strings. :: How did it fall off?::  
Out of the blue shadows came a hand, quickly clasping her wrist. She pulled back, kicking against the phantom, but it remained firm. Bubbles scampered toward the surface like frightened birds, wending away from the danger. As they cleared, Aristae found herself looking at a creature not unlike herself.   
He was a soldier of some sort, with a black coat and blue armor. He looked concerned. Aristae fought the urge to pull from his grasp. He did not look particularly threatening. ::As if meeting someone under water isn't terrifying enough:: she growled mentally. ::Things keep getting more and more curious. . . Alice in Wonderland. . . now I know how she felt:: She remained anchored to the bottom, silent except for the beating of her heart. ::What do you want?:: she thought, unable to talk without sending her remaining air to the surface.  
As if in response, the boy opened his mouth to speak, sending a thin stream of bubbles upward. His blue eyes watch them swim toward the surface, as if he was surprised he held air at all. His gold-blonde hair waved lazily in the current caused by their movement, framing his young face. ::Who are you?:: she asked mentally.   
He smiled sadly and released her hand. She didn't swim for the surface immediately though her lungs were beginning to ache from holding her breath. Aristae watched as the boy produced a large bubble from his cupped hands. Fluttering inside were two moths, one of white and one of black. He proceeded to pull the bubble apart, making one into two. The white moth fluttered in one while the black sat placidly in the other.   
He looked at her expectantly, holding the bubbles before her like a gift. ::I don't understand! What are you saying?::  
The boy turned sharply from her, disappearing in the shadowy depths. All Aristae could see in his wake was a small, white fish, swimming away. More confused than ever, she wished to make sense of her meeting. The painful pressure in her lungs made it all but impossible to do so. With a powerful kick upward, she headed for the surface.   
Duran was beside her the moment her head arose, grabbing her beneath the arms and hauling her to the bank. She lay in the mud for several minutes, gasping for breath, unable to speak or move. "A- a boy. . .-" she managed, opening her eyes to Duran's worried face, "In the water."  
Duran looked over the calm waters. There was not even a ripple in the surface, "I see no one."  
"In the water, a boy," she panted. "It was weird."   
Duran looked out again, and again there was no one. "My lady, you are mistaken," he said carefully. "There is no one."  
Aristae gave a heart felt groan and said no more, resigning herself to regain her dignity. "Never mind." As she looked out over te water, she saw exactly what she expected. The boy was standing at the pond's center, holding another sphere with two moths. "See!" she pointed, "Do you see him now?"  
Duran glanced toward the pond, then at Aristae. "I see nothing, my lady. I think it best if we head back."  
"Duran!" she whined, frustrated. "Why can't you see him?"  
::Because there's no one there:: he said to himself. "I do not know. The glare off the water, perhaps?"  
She knew he was humoring her, and it only served to make her more upset. She glared defiantly at the boy standing on the water. ::Who ARE you!::  
The boy looked hurt for a moment, like she was being unfair to him. "I'm only trying to help" his expression seemed to say. "Do not hate me for it." He proceeded to pull the sphere apart once more, above the water's surface. Instead of separating cleanly, it burst, tearing apart the fragile insects within. "Now do you understand?" he asked with his eyes. "Now do you see?"  
"No, no I don't!" she spat, sitting up forcefully. "Go away!"  
And he did, vanishing as the sun glinted brilliantly off the water. His time was up.   
As they headed back to the castle, Aristae saw many soldiers like the boy in the lake. They were all around, walking beside her horse, marching ahead of Duran, and hiding behind the forest trees. Of course Duran noticed none of them and led her mount in absolute silence. After the first couple of soldiers she saw, she gave up pointing them out. Instead, when he asked, she said they had gone away. What a lie. The last soldier she saw stood at the castle gate, appraising her calmly with emerald eyes. Tall and thin, with pale blonde hair and armor like all the others, he stayed motionless as they neared. The early afternoon rays of the sun affected his greyish complexion little, leaving the shadows light and his skin lighter. Aristae watched as Duran walked up to the youth, and felt her hold on reality lurch as he passed right through him. The horse and herself followed accordingly, walking through the pale character as if he wasn't there. She was suddenly very cold and nauseous. ::Ghosts:: she thought. ::They're all ghosts:: She looked back over her shoulder warily only to find the boy was gone without a trace. ::Something is very wrong::. 


	12. Shadow War: Part 12

Shadow War: Part 12

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
Notes: E-mail tested, Beta approved. I am SOOOOO glad I have a Beta again- and a really really GOOD one! Well, now I can happily say that Shadow War is being continued once more. For those of you who have been reading from the very beginning- over two years ago ::sniffles:: THANK YOU! For the newcomers, welcome to my twisted story!   
  
  
Selena had watched the girl, Aristae, return to the castle that afternoon. The horses and guards looked small from her bedroom window, like toy soldiers laid out on a map. If only it were that easy to position the guards, the horses, and the girl.   
::Why doesn't she help me?:: she asked herself, trying to block out the strange, alien feeling within her head. She could no longer hear Dilandau clearly. It was almost as if his thoughts were being blocked. At first it seemed like he was fading away, dying at the mere presence of Aristae, and yet she had a nagging feeling that was not the case. ::Where are you Dilandau Albatou? How can I defeat you if I don't know where you are?::   
There was another thing bothering her, another presence it seemed. It was there, within her, but unannounced. Formless compared to Dilandau, it was an amorphous being somehow connected with him. She did not fully understand how though.   
"You will heal me, Aristae," she stated, reaffirming her faith in her prayer's answer. With a quiet sigh she crawled into her bed. The night before had been trying and a catnap before dinner seemed like a good idea. The sun was still shining like molten gold in the sky. She hoped its light would keep her mind at rest, and her monsters at bay.   
  
  
"You will heal me, Aristae," the voice cut through Zongi's mind like a knife, and he stiffened at its entrance.   
"What is this?" he rasped, loosening his grip on Dilandau's neck. He looked at the pale creature struggling for life beneath him, watched each weak breath that passed those parted lips, searched his unseeing eyes for some treachery. ::No, he does not know how.::  
Selena's voice pierced the recesses of his mind once more, with quiet resolution. "Aristae WILL heal me."  
Zongi brought a heavy hand across Dilandau's face, as if he had uttered the words. He watched it snap sharply to the side at impact and smiled when the boy responded with a whimper. It was so nice to see him like a weak little dog, unable to defend himself, his fangs useless. ::Oh Dilandau, I will be sad to kill you. I want to hurt you forever:: Dilandau thought of death. He didn't care about what came after, so long as it was not this deep ache tinged with the coppery scent of blood. Selena had deserted him, and he was ready to desert himself. ::Let me die:: he prayed to no one. ::Please, just end my life::  
But the only one to hear his thoughts was Zongi. A cruel smile played upon his white lips as he decided to drag Dilandau's demise out a little longer. ::First I will rid myself of Selena. Then, when I return, perhaps I will break the boy's neck:: "Yes, I think I shall do that." Zongi bent close to his captive's ear, flicking his tongue out to taste the edge of its delicate shell. It tasted of blood and salt, as if he'd been crying. ::Oh, I hope you have:: "Don't go away, Dilandau." He still loved the way his name rolled past his lips, the sound, the silky texture of it. It was good even without a tense reaction. "I have business elsewhere, but I will come back. I promise."  
Dilandau made no move to reply, only letting a shaking breath past his lips. Zongi's body atop his brought up fresh memories he wanted to forget. Zongi pressing down on him, biting his neck, pushing between his legs. ::No, no stop! Zongi. . .his. . .NO!::  
"I'll come back for you." And with that, Zongi left him to his thoughts, reveling that they revolved around all the wonderfully evil things he'd done to him. ::Soon everything will be as it should:: He walked to the wall of smoky glass, the one Dilandau assumed Selena had erected. One long fingered hand stroked the smooth surface before passing through. His sight was dark and hazy, but he could see Zongi passing through the wall as if it were nothing. The surface wavered as he passed completely, then stood as it had before, smooth and solid.  
::No escape::   
  
  
Selena awoke to the sounds of the night several hours after dinner had been served. She glanced at her nightstand to see that a tray had been left for her, but she wasn't hungry. She pulled the covers back mechanically, swung her legs over the side and stood. Somewhere in the distance she heard the guard call the time. It was midnight. As if in a trance, she walked to the door and pulled the heavy handle, careful to open it slowly so it didn't creak, and glided silently down the hall. She knew where she was going, and why, though if asked she could have said nothing. It was all clear, yet vague in that all the particulars were missing, as if they weren't needed.   
She passed Allen's room, pausing only a moment to hear him sleeping. He murmured her name in his sleep, causing her to awaken as if for the first time. ::What am I doing here?:: she asked herself. ::Don't worry about it, just walk on.:: was the reply. She continued without further question.  
"Good, good girl Selena," Zongi said nicely, watching from the edge of Selena's thoughts as she walked toward Aristae's room. "Show me the one."  
He saw her come to the door, watched as it opened before her and she stepped inside. ::Now, I make my move::  
Zongi walked into Selena's thoughts with practiced ease. It was so much easier infiltrating a mind that had the false security of a physical body. He was on the field that Dilandau had avoided and felt the long golden grass brush against his bare calves. "Selena," he said quietly, "I wish to have a word with you."  
There was a chair beside Aristae's bed, and Selena decided to sit in it. She kept her eyes on Aristae's face, peaceful in sleep. In a strange sort of way, she reminded her of Van. Her dark hair and skin, her nose, even the shape of her face reminded her of the Fanelian king. She realized that a connection between the two was unlikely, despite appearances. Allen had told her the girl was from the Mystic Moon.   
::Van. . .:: She hadn't really had a chance to meet him for herself. She had a clear recollection of Dilandau's feelings toward him, but did not have any of her own. Allen spoke highly of him, and she figured she would probably think similarly. She was to meet him in a month's time, when Allen's post would take him to Fanelia. ::Will I be well enough to go with him?::  
  
  
Zongi walked across the grass covered plain, looking for the psyche that dwelled upon it. His thoughts flashed images from what Selena was seeing. The girl, Aristae, sleeping soundly in her bed, bathed in blue shadows. Her dark hair spilling over the pillows like a cloak of ribbons, with her hand curled around an errant lock. Then the flashes stopped. The deceiver had found her, sitting against a wise old oak tree, staring listlessly into space, a soft smile upon her lips. He briefly considered killing her outright and taking over the body, but a sudden spark of inspiration stopped him.   
The plain's grass was gold and dry. Zongi fingered along the length of it gently. So much dry grass, so easy to. . . He smiled the snake's grin, focusing his thoughts on fire. At first he thought of a single candle flame, then a hearth, and finally a battlefield. Grass curled black in the sudden, smoldering heat, red embers glowing along the blades. Selena continued to sit under her tree, unmindful of the growing blaze around her. Her crystalline eyes reflected gold as the whole field roared with fire.   
  
  
Dilandau closed his eyes for what he hoped was the last time, breathing a single deep breath. He tried to ignore the insistent pain in his chest, and savor his last breath poetically, feeling the air in his lungs as it passed through his nose and down his throat. He wasn't going to pretend that he was ready to die, only eager to escape the unending Hell.   
He could hear his heart, incredibly slow in his chest, the beats lengthening as the familiar rhythm broke its pace. Long, painful moments passed as they softly quieted to no more than a whisper, until even that gentle sound faded to nothingness.   
He let his breath out slowly, fighting the urge to open his eyes and look once more around the abyss. There was nothing to see, and no route of escape. It was the only instant in Dilandau's life in which he prayed for peace. 


	13. Shadow War: Part 13

Shadow War: Part 13

  
  
Author: Ari   
  
E-Mail: RedYume@aol.com   
  
Notes: Once again, all must bow before the power of my Beta!   
  
  
Aristae walked in a world of mists, surrounded by moist, grey clouds. It was cool and damp, like the mountain trails in the early morning. She wasn't sure where she was or how she had gotten there, but it was peaceful and quiet. She walked without purpose or direction, looking around at the varying shades of grey in mild admiration. A formless beauty hung in the air, without time to shape it. ::What sort of place is this?::   
She strolled a bit more, making a series of wide turns and backtracks. No two places looked alike, and nothing was ever familiar. It was that strange feeling of space found only in a dream. ::Am I dreaming?::   
A shape formed in the distance, thin and vague, but solid. With no better place to go, Aristae headed towards it. There was a tension in the air that hadn't been there before, telling her to hurry. She ran through the mists, footfalls heavy and wet against the silvery ground. An uncontrollable fear caught her chest and she sped faster, unable to stop or look back. The figure ahead did not get closer as she ran, but stood like a half formed image from a dream, always through the mist, indistinct and elusive. "Don't go! Stay where you are!"   
But the figure stood stoic in the quiet surroundings, neither moving nor acknowledging her words. Aristae continued to yell other things that made no sense even to her; words that had no meaning, whose origins were alien. As they passed her lips the mist cleared, pushed back to the edge of the colorless horizon. Aristae stood still, breath coming in hard pants. She had run a marathon in the course of a few minutes and was trembling with a mixture fear and apprehension. She was only inches away from him.   
He was tall and lean, with a slender neck and pale silver-tinged hair. Wide shoulders held squarely at attention, face looking straight ahead, away from her. From her close vantage she could just see the edge of his thin, straight nose and the curve of his gaunt cheek. She opened her mouth to say something, perhaps to ask his name. She wasn't sure. Whatever it was died on her lips, as his shoulders slumped and he turned unsteadily to look into her eyes.   
Lost, he was lost. His eyes were beautiful, sad gems that gazed through her soul. They asked for help, for forgiveness, but also for solitude. She took a step back in uncertainty, afraid of him and for him at the same time. Every thought she had was at odds with another, and she faltered with no one direction to follow. A step forward followed by a hurried stumble back. What should she do? Where should she go? ::I'm lost, I'm here. I'm scared, but he needs help.::   
The decision was made for her as he took a step toward her. His breath caught and he paused, eyes wide and frightened. There was a moment of absolute stillness where thought stopped and the air froze. With something akin to a moan, those sad eyes slid shut and he fell heavily forward, into her awaiting arms.   
Aristae's eyes snapped open without a sound and she lay very still. She could still feel his weight against her, but as the world of mists receded and consciousness dawned, the feeling faded. ::It was a dream:: she thought. ::A very strange dream::. Minutes passed slowly as she stared at the far wall, thinking of the boy in her dream. It had been the first dream she had experienced since her arrival on Gaia, she mused, and she wondered if it had some connection with Selena. ::I will tell Allen of this in the morning::.   
As she prepared to go back to sleep, the heavy feeling of another presence descended upon her. The frozen sensation of someone in her room, in the dark, prickled her skin. She didn't want to move, for fear that whoever it was would see she was awake. It was someone unfamiliar, even frightening, in the room with her.   
When the other person shifted their weight, Aristae sat up and turned toward them. "Who's there?"  
There was no response, but Aristae could see Selena's outline in the far off light of a guard torch. Her champagne hair was disheveled from sleep and she looked tired. "Selena?" she asked uncertainly.  
Again, the girl did not respond, but looked straight ahead, as still as stone. Her vacant dark blue eyes seemed to move within their orbs, swirling like the night sea. It was only when they closed that she spoke. Her voice was dark and dry like autumn leaves against a flagstone, her tone chilling. "I am someone dead, come back to life."  
"You are Selena," Aristae said with certainty. Though they hadn't been formally introduced, the resemblance was unmistakable.   
"I was Selena," came the cold reply.   
"Then you are-" Aristae began.   
Selena's eyes opened sharply, green and glowing in the darkness. "Alive!"   
Aristae fled from the room so quickly it made her own head spin. She ran down the hall in an absolute panic, heart beating frantically as her veins pumped rivers of ice. That thing in the room, was no longer Selena. She had witnessed the transformation of the human girl into something very evil and terrifying. ::Allen, Allen, Allen:: was the only thought to run though her head. Only when she reached his door did she stop to look behind her. It wasn't following her. She could hear nothing except the sound of her own breath and blitzing heart. ::Calm down, relax, it's not following.:: A single scuffing noise down the hall made her revert back to her former thought.   
Aristae began to pound on the heavy wooden door. "Allen! Allen! Allen!!!" She paused, straining to hear anything above her own heavy breathing. A faint green glow at the end of the hall sent a chill racing through her. "Allen, WAKE UP! NOW!"  
She didn't want to cry, but she could feel them behind her eyes - tears of absolute terror ready to show themselves. She opened her mouth to resume her cries, but only a sob escaped. The glow was closer now, brighter. Two eyes, unearthly clear, stared right at her.   
The door was too thick, she realized, and her fists too weak. Allen was still asleep and those eyes were coming closer. She had to think, but panic made it all but impossible. As it approached, she backed away from the safety of the door, ready to bolt. "S-Selena?" she stammered, trying to reason.   
"I'm not Selena," it said confidently, a dark little smile upon its lips. "Di-Dilandau?"  
It paused, frowning deeply. "Don't say that name!"  
"Are you Dilandau?" She took another step back.  
"I am Myself!" it shrieked, lunging forward.  
In the depths of his shattered mind, Dilandau knew he would not be alive when Zongi returned. He had cheated death by remaining within Selena and had paid a dear price for it. ::I should have let go:: he thought. ::I will let go::.  
A whisper of the mind, almost inaudible, reached to touch the broken soul. "Dilandau. . ."  
"I will let go," he croaked.  
"Dilandau. . ."   
There was nothing but darkness before her as she ran, not daring to look back even for a moment. She knew it was there, running after her. She could see Selena's face twisted almost beyond recognition and those cold green eyes, her features framed by tangled blonde hair and her body driven to unnatural madness.   
One turn led to another, until Aristae found the staircase leading to a turret. She scrambled up without thinking. Only when she heard the other behind her did she realized her mistake. ::Dead end!::. Once they reached the top there would be nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. She contemplated turning around, trying to push past Selena, back into the twisting halls below, but the growl that echoed to her ears from below made it known that it was not a good idea. Up the spiral stairs they ran, darkness leading to darkness, fear leading the chase. The spiral of stone seemed to go on forever, but for the frantic girl it ended quickly in a cool wash of fresh air.  
She had reached the top, and there was nowhere else to go. ::Southern Turret:: Aristae thought. She wasn't sure of anything at that point, but guessed that was where they were. She clambered for the edge furthest from the stairwell, turning to watch its dark maw. Five echoing steps later, the monster, Selena, had also reached the top. "That was nice. Useless, but nice," she panted, smiling. It was not a girl's smile; it was barely human.   
"You should leave Selena's body," Aristae said quietly, trying to circle far away from the other. Selena watched her with a cat-like intensity, circling toward her.  
"It's not her body any longer," was the easy reply.  
"It IS her body," Aristae said hotly. "It was never yours, Dilandau!"  
"I am NOT Dilandau!" it seethed, eyes glowing like strange embers in an alien fire.   
"You are! You are Dilandau!" She needed time to think. Time to figure a way out.   
"I am not!" It was angry. That word, that name, was very uncomfortable. " I killed Dilandau! I killed Selena! There is only Me!" It was a lie, for the job wasn't truly complete, but there would be no argument now that he was in control of the body. He could finish it at his leisure, after he finished off the girl in front of him. "I'm tired of your petty little game," he spat. "I don't even see why you're such a threat." There was a long silence between them, punctuated by the chill of the night wind. "But I will not jeopardize my existence because of you!"  
A single leap and he was upon her, bending her back over the wall. She could feel his breath- no, Selena's breath, erroneously sweet against her face. "She's not dead," Aristae growled, trying to fight back. There was neither time to stall nor think. It was happening too fast.   
Selena's body was larger than hers, and the best Aristae could do was to push her back a few inches. "It doesn't matter," he cooed. "You'll be with her soon enough."  
::I'm losing:: Aristae thought, feeling her traction release. ::She's going to push me over:: Images flashed before her eyes, of memories long forgotten; birthdays, school, friends and fights, the ghosts she had seen on her ride, and her dream. The dream she had had less than an hour ago. And, suddenly, those words she had called to the boy with, that alien tongue, came back to her. "Asei a na karai! Asei a na karai! Dilandau!"   
A voice echoed within her own mind. ::Help me. I can't hold on::  
Stone crumbled beneath her and she felt herself falling backwards, over the edge. She grabbed upward instinctively, seizing hold of Selena's hair, but she was still falling. Her stomach lurched at the sensation. ::I don't want to die!::  
Falling. He was falling through empty space. Faster and faster, the wind flew past his body as whispers filled his ears. Promises and lies, words from the past and friends long since dead. ::I'm falling. . .:: he thought. ::Falling into Hell::  
Someone pulled his hair, jerking his eyes open. Above him was a girl, dark hair tossing wildly in the wind as her golden eyes burrowed into his soul. Her translucent body loomed above his like an angel of judgment, features stern and cold. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't have the chance. All he felt was the icy impact, and all was dark. 


	14. Shadow War: Part 14

?Author: Ari

E-Mail: FINALLY, I'm back writing this story. It has been on the shelf fr so long, and I feel so badly about that! To Anyone who has managed not t forget it in all that time- thank you. To those just discovering it, welcome and thank you! Sorry if it seems rougher than the other chapters, I am without a beta at the moment and have only reread it myself. If you see any glaring errors,  
feel free to tell me. No sense in letting them go unpunished! I am already writing the next chapter so you won't have to wait long for it! Feedback ALWAYS appreciated.

With a stifled cry, consciousness rushed back to Aristae with a chilling shudder. Bubbles scrambled desperately to the surface as she lay motionless in the inky darkness, edged in the gold of faint torchlight from above. ::I'm in the moat:: She thought anxiously, jerking her body toward the surface. As she broke above the darkness of the water she took a deep shivery breath. The water was extremely cold and her body felt stiff and unresponsive as she tried to keep afloat.  
"Se-Selena?", she said quietly, unsure of whether she really wanted to hear a response from the monestrous girl. She was greeted with absolute silence, save for the soft crackle of torches high above and the soft swirl of water around her. She blinked the icy water away, looking around slowly,  
"Selena"  
Again, she was greeted with no response. She lifted her head high, looking to a parapet where she could barely see the top of a night guard's head. She took a deep breath and lifted herself as far from the water as she was able. She opened her mouth to yell for help but a hard pull on her leg cut her short.  
Water filled her open mouth as she was dragged back under with surprising force. She had found Selena, and she wasn't done with the chase just yet. Aristae began to kick fiercely against the heavy pull on her leg, screaming into the water as she tried to claw back to the top.  
Beneath her, Selena swam away from the surface, pulling Aristae with her by the ankle. Selena added a second hand to grip with the first, kicking back against her as she descended into the black depths.  
As the surface fell away, so did the panic in Aristae's heart. A strange sense of absolute peace settled in its place, which was almost as disconcerting as the prospect of death. ::I am not afraid:: Aristae thought calmly. ::I no longer give you that power::. As if struck by lightning, Selena froze in the water, looking up at Aristae in absolute terror. Her cold green eyes shone wide and bright in the darkness, framed by illuminated wisps of her champagne hair. The thought echoed in Selena's head, bouncing off the confines of the burning field and the black abyss, "I no longer give you that power"  
Against the instinct to fight for air, Aristae reversed her direction in the water, catching Selena by the arm and pulling her into a tight embrace. ::THIS... IS... OVER::

A blast of arctic air whipped across the burning field of Selena's mind, silencing the roaring flames in a single gust. They hung there, like crystal shards of amber, before shattering and falling to the sooty earth below. The sound of breaking glass echoed across expanse,  
harmonized with the gale's howl of ice. From beyond the smokey wall, Dilandau heard the shrill whistle of the wind come closer.  
He could hear the snap of the grass and flames as they broke from its power, so fragile against its torrent of cold. Something important was happening beyond that wall, but he had neither the strength nor the fight to go to it. He lay motionless with the heavy feeling of airlessness tight in his lungs. He tried to breathe more deeply, to quell the panic of a slow suffocating death, but he just couldn't. His heart fluttered faintly as fear replaced resignation. His final moments, trapped inside Selena's mind as a prisoner of a deranged ghost. . . it was unbearable. His chest tightened painfully, then a second time. ::I need air... need something...:: His mind reeled through memories, his memories, her memories, his dreams and her nightmares.  
They all crashed over him in a sick wash. It was all too much to take in, too fast to catch himself falling through. The smokey wall shook as the wind beat against it. One gust then another quick on its heals hit its dark surface. The shudder was deep and booming as the chilled air struck it as soundly as any hammer. It was after him, it wanted in.  
Dilandau barely heard the piercing chime of the wall as it broke into a thousand shards,  
falling all around him in thin splinters. The wind rushed like an avenging demon, stirring the bits across the blackness. ::It is so cold:: Dilandau thought painfully. ::I am so cold::

Zongi awoke in the abyss. He was not in Selena's mind and he was not in her body. It was quiet, save for the lull of spring Cicadas. "No," he croaked into the absolute black of his surroundings. "NO"  
The sound was all but eaten by the darkness, barely reverberating in his own throat. Zongi had failed, and he was not left to roam anymore. Without a mind, without a body, he was tied to nothing in the world he had lived in. So he found himself trapped inside his own mind, which unfortunately was an endless loop of non-existence. There he would remain, with the sounds of spring cicadas, eternally. It was truly over. He was nothing more than a figment of his own creation, rotting inside the corpse of his mind. 

Aristae awoke slowly on the muddy bank of the moat. Unconsciousness gave way to dizziness and then to severe nausea. She rolled onto her arm and vomited earthy tasting water onto the slope, heave after heave, purging itself from her body. She rolled further, pressing her hands against the muck, pushing herself up as the last waves hit her and receded. With a shaky sigh she realized she actually felt much better. She looked around stiffly, unsure of what had brought her to the bank from the bottom of the moat. Above her, safe on the grass, lay Selena. She looked peaceful and at rest. There was no hint of the malice which had consumed her before. Her nightgown still clung wetly to her body but her hair had begun to dry, a few stray locks curling against the early morning breeze. It was still dark, but the stars were pulling back to the thinning grey of the dawn on the eastern horizon. The light matched that of the ensconced torches, which were sputtering and dimming as their pitch was spent. Aristae spit weakly, trying to rid the last taste of the water from her mouth. The saliva slid lazily down her chin, hanging a moment before dripping slowly to the ground, followed shortly with another thin string as she spit again. She finally wiped it away with her muddy palm,  
smearing it in a arc across her cheek. Out of the corner of her eye she saw another figure, hunched loosely in a fetal position some distance away. It was still partly in the water, as if they simply lacked the strength to pull free of the moat. Aristae pulled her legs beneath her, pushing up from her knees. She tottered a moment, sitting on her haunches before standing. The mud was slick, and she slipped as she made her first small steps toward the figure, several feet away. She felt woozy and light headed as she stumbled. Several short, halted steps later she was beside him, and she felt sick all over again.  
Aristae choked back the bile rising in her throat. She slumped heavily to her knees,  
placing a hand on the ghostly white shoulder of the boy in the water. It was a surreal moment of recognition. She knew who this was without doubt or hesitation. This was Dilandau Albatou.  
Unlike his counterpart Selena, who looked to be in peaceful slumber with a rose hue to her cheeks, he looked as pale and cold as the grey morning which crept around them.  
Aristae put her arms beneath Dilandau's dragging him half onto her lap and out of the water. He was heavy and limp, with no movement to show life flowed through his veins. She brushed his hair away from his eyes with her fingertips, ignoring the wet tangles as she smoothed it behind his ear. There was an unearthly pallor to his skin and his stillness worried her greatly.  
She wished she had something to cover his body with, to shield it from the heavy morning chill.  
Her mind worked in slow motion as day broke over the horizon. With the warm yellow rays came the sound of voices from the castle, and soon to follow came the palace guards. She sat there with Dilandau's head in her lap, watching in silence as they raced toward her.  
The morning light chased away the mist quickly, leaving a growing warmth in its place. It felt good against her body, though it seemed Dilandau did not gain any of the warmth from it.  
The guards seemed very concerned about all three of them as they rushed around her. One picked up Selena while another checked her vitals on the walk back into the castle. Another carefully pulled Aristae to her feet, pulling her up into his arms, "Lady Aristae, are you injured"  
Aristae looked from Dilandau to the guard who held her in his arms. It seemed an eternity before she could form the words to answer, "No. I'm ok"  
"Selena!" The word shot through the morning lull like a knife as Allen dashed from the castle gate to his sister. His panicked look said it all. There was a moment where he thought he had lost her again, a moment of lapse where he had not protected her. A moment, which he thought had cost him his only family. "Selena." He said more softly, touching her cheek with the back of his hand. Her eyes fluttered lightly at the touch, "Allen"  
Relief washed over him. She was ok, despite his truancy she was alive and still with him.  
He silently renewed his vow to protect her, nodding to the guards. "Take her to her room and fetch the doctor."

Aristae watched the tender moment between Allen and his sister. For the first time since her arrival, she felt a lonesome pang for home. Not that there was really anyone she would have moments like that with there, but it felt like there should be someone like that waiting for her.  
There wasn't, but her heart said there should be.  
Allen walked somewhat slower to Aristae's side, smiling weakly after his scare with Selena. Aristae tried to smile back, but she could feel that the corners of her mouth weren't quite tipping up as they should. She still felt very disconnected from the whole situation.  
Allen's gaze traveled from her down to the naked boy at his feet, Dilandau. There was a strange mix of confusion, hate, and pity written against his refined features. It seemed impossible for the boy to be there at all, yet he was. Allen wanted to punish him for all he'd done to Selena,  
yet he was so still that Allen wondered if he was alive. Beyond what he'd done and what Allen wished to do, there was the question of what to do with him. In all their attempts to extract him,  
there was an element to dispose of him. Allen had never anticipated having to house the war criminal. Aristae opened her mouth slightly, trying to think of what to say to him. All her thoughts coalesced to, "Allen, I think he needs help." 


	15. Shadow War: Part 15

Aristae was carried to her room and left to her thoughts. The guard mentioned something about a doctor being sent up, but she didn't really hear what he was saying. With a soft click of the latch, she was safe and alone. She lay in bed and thought of how strange the whole night had been. Everything crashing down around her ears into the moat.

It was surreal how Selena had attacked her, or rather Dilandau had attacked her. Those cold unearthly eyes staring at her and the crazed grin were of a monster. A monster which, according to Allen, was certainly not Selena. But was it really Dilandau? It didn't seem to fit. When Aristae called him by name, it only made him angry. Whoever was pulling the strings of Selena's mind did not like Aristae's assumptions about him. So many unanswered questions leading to only more unanswered questions, each shivering across her mind at amazing speed. With a heavy sigh, Aristae let her eyes slide shut. She would still her thoughts and make herself sleep. Allen was sure to check on her. When he came, she'd fire her questions off one by one. Surely he would be able to help her untangle the constricting web of thoughts.

Rather than releasing her to rest, her mind continued to pump its spinning gears forward. Why was Dilandau now free of Selena if he wanted to control her body? More importantly, why did he look so dead? Had the fall from the tower killed him? Or had he drowned in the moat? Neither of those two explanations accounted for him actually having a body. Another question beginning to gnaw at her, making an acrid lump in her stomach, was the question she knew everyone would start to wonder about soon. What were they going to do with him? As a Zaibach soldier, a commander of elite troops no less, she seriously doubted they'd just let him go and forget about everything he had done to them.

She squinched her eyes tight. ::NO more thinking:: Sleep was so close and yet held at arm's length. Her body was telling her she had gotten plenty of 'rest' on the bank of the moat and it needed to get up and figure this all out.

She silently made a deal with herself::I need to talk to the slayers again. I'm quite sure they know exactly what's going on. If I go to sleep, I have a good chance of getting the information I need. If I stay up, I don't.::

The pact seemed to work. Within minutes she was in a light sleep. Noises pricked her ears as people passed in front of her door, threatening to wake her up. But each disturbance left quickly, leaving a thick silence in its wake. It wasn't the most comfortable or restful sleep, but she hoped that it was good enough to pass the time and maybe contact Dilandau's faithful men.

The only dreams Aristae had were of dark emptiness. There were no emotions attached to the blackness of her mind and unfortunately there were no Slayers to be found there. She hovered close to what she assumed would be the entrance to a helpful fantasy, but with minutes passing to hours, nothing happened.

In her light sleep she waited for Allen. He was another way to ease her overfilled mind and all its questions, but none of the sounds which came to her door were him. As she felt the daylight shift in warm rays through the window, she knew that afternoon had come and gone without a visit, and evening arrived with a cool breeze in solitude.

The doctor they had claimed would see her didn't show as well, making her feel very unimportant and remote. She was fine and she knew it, but being checked on would have been nice.

It was a few days before Aristae saw Allen again. The castle which had originally welcomed her with nothing more than slight caution now went silent in her presence. When she walked the gardens, maids would avoid eye contact and the guards were stiff and silent. Even Duran, who she felt she had formed a sort of friendship with, put himself at a distance.

She had not asked to see Dilandau. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask since rumors were flying about a formal hearing concerning his war crimes. There was a quiet spark about where she fit into that problem, but it died as quickly as it had come. She did nothing more than fall into the moat. Regardless, a hearing was only a stone's throw away for the soldier. It was all much simpler now that he wasn't attached to Allen's little sister.

From what she had been told by Duran, the Zaibach soldier, Dilandau Albatou, had not awoken from his unconscious state. He was under heavy guard in the North wing of the castle keep and chained to one of the bed posts just in case.

"You make him sound so dangerous." Aristae said, walking down the narrow labyrinth path.

"He is dangerous." Duran replied darkly. "He razed Fanelia to the ground, burned cities in Astoria and killed an untold number of civilians in his search for Escaflowne and its pilot, Van Fanel."

Aristae glanced back over her shoulder. "And he did this all... alone?"

Duran stiffened. "Well no, he had an elite force of Guymelef pilots who were under his command."

"Ah," she said. "And here I was beginning to think him some sort of amazing monster, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet. That sort of thing."

"What?" Duran wasn't sure what bullets and buildings had to do with anything.

Aristae bit the inside of her cheek. Of course he didn't get the reference, 'Super Man' wasn't a part of this world's pop culture. "Never mind, it's an Earth thing."

"You have a lot of those, don't you." Duran said rather testily.

"I do." She admitted. "But then, I'm from Earth, or the Mystic Moon, or Mars or Pluto whatever you call it. So I guess I should."

She was being unfair and she knew it. It wasn't his fault he didn't know what she was talking about. Her words only made her seem stranger and a bit more crazy to the locals, even Duran. At least Allen understood her. He never seemed to question her quirks, but then he could just as easily pretend to not notice the obvious differences.

Tired of hearing bits of information from her escort, Aristae stopped and turned on her heel. "Take me to Allen."

Duran didn't respond immediately, "Ah, he may be with his sister or meeting with the Allied generals or something."

Her request clearly made Duran uncomfortable, more so than she had expected it would. "Or something?"

She was no expert on the Gaian way of handling situations, but the 'or something' she was familiar with usually meant there was something she wasn't supposed to know about going on. In Astoria she was sure there were hundreds of things she had no business knowing, but to be evasive meant it concerned her situation to at least some extent.

Duran straightened and Aristae watched the trained composure of a guard strip the comfortable posture from him. It was a protective move on his part and she didn't appreciate it at all. "I can assure you, Lady Aristae, that Sir Allen will be notified of your request."

"Duran, what's going on?" she asked quietly. "I just wanted to see Allen. So what's with the stonewalling?"

He wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but it showed he was not good at hiding things from her. "I'm not stonewalling."

Allen carefully watched the expressions of the generals sitting across from him, gauging their thoughts through the furrows and wrinkles their faces made. It was a heavy decision, one which none of them took lightly, but all seemed to have a heavy handed answer for the former Zaibach soldier all the same.

General Pais spoke first, "I think we're all on the same path, Sir Allen. Now that the criminal is no longer hiding inside your sister, there is no reason not to try him for his crimes and execute him."

"Think of the Astorian people, Allen. This will give them some satisfaction that justice has been carried out. The war is over and now one of its leading figures will be put to death." General Elloran added grimly. "It's not like we could have tried Dornkirk or Folken Fanel."

"I don't believe we would have tried Folken." Allen said diplomatically.

General Pais smiled wanly. "Don't be so sure. The people of this country, and many others want justice to be served."

"Van would have protected him." Allen hissed.

"And rightly so." General Galer. "But that doesn't mean he wouldn't have been punished for his crimes."

Allen grit his teeth and moved to get up. Elloran motioned for him to stop. "We digress. We're here to talk about the prisoner, Dilandau Albatou."

"Yes, Dilandau." Allen growled. It came out a bit harsher than he had intended it to. ::Calm down Allen. It doesn't matter, Folken is dead::

"I've been told he hasn't gained consciousness yet. Is that true?" Galer said darkly, addressing Allen.

Elloran chuckled. "It would be a shame if he didn't come around. It seems almost wrong to hang him like that."

"Feh, almost," Pais spat. "But this is as much about appearances as anything else."

"Are you saying we will execute him regardless?" Allen couldn't believe what he was hearing. They were talking about someone who couldn't defend themselves. It made his stomach turn a tight knot.

"It's not like we don't know who he is or what he did. Everyone knows. A trial is a formality, so we can list it all out. He is guilty no matter the length of the list."

Allen was quickly coming to the conclusion he didn't want anything to do with this. These men were vying for political clout with both the people and the crown. The Zaibach soldier was simply a subscript to their achievements. For the first time since finding him, Allen Schezar wished Dilandau would die where he slept. The thought of a public execution in the state he was in was unthinkable. "What does Eries think about all this?"

"Princess Eries has left this matter to us." Pais stated. "She has sent word to King Van Fanel concerning the prisoner as well. She believes he has personal cause for being a part of it."

It was true, Dilandau razed Fanelia in a single battle. Leaving Van with no choice but to flee his homeland and birthright. It was put aright at the close of the war, but the damage to be undone was still a monestrous undertaking and it was not complete. Not to mention those close to him who had lost their lives in the struggle. They all put a tender scar on the young king's heart.

"So princess Eries is not aware that you would kill the men with his eyes closed?" Allen concluded.

Pais shook his head. "Don't be so sure she cares, Sir Allen."

"We need to wait for King Van to make the final decision anyway." Allen said coldly, more than ready to leave the meeting. "We can reconvene then."

"You are right, Knight, there is no hurry." Elloran said. "Dilandau isn't going anywhere."

Allen made a quick bow as he exited, turning to the door guard. "Send for a doctor, I wish to see him in the prisoner's quarters- North Wing, immediately."

"Yes, Sir Allen."

The ideas which were brought to light in that meeting were disturbing and distasteful. Dilandau was a soldier and a killer, but to be done away with in the state he was in was cowardly. He was a fighter and he deserved to know his fate. He should be allowed to face it with his eyes open.

He had not mentioned Selena's feelings to the panel of generals. They would not have cared to listen to it anyhow. They had their suspicions that the girl was crazy even without the boy trapped inside her. For him to tell them that despite an absolute terror of Dilandau, Selena wished that he would be left alone, would only pin point her as another possible target for their political game. Another fear, which Allen shared, was that his death would land Dilandau right back where he began, in Selena's mind.

He walked quickly over the dark stone of the halls, taking stairs at a quick clip on his way to Dilandau's room. He had some questions for the doctor, and with Dilandau still in a dark sleep it was a good time to get them answered.

He wanted to know why he wasn't waking up. Selena had awoke later that day. She felt weak and had a very had headache, but was for the most part, fine. Aristae also recuperated from the strange night's adventure with little trouble. She had some scratches and felt somewhat bruised, but again, was fine. Dilandau was very different, he had barely moved an inch from where he was placed that morning. With the exception of taking a few sips of water, he hadn't signaled that he aware of the outside world at all.

Allen let a deep breath out as he grabbed the handle of the door, looking from one guard to the other on either side. He dared them to say something about him going in. He had half an expectation that the generals plotting the boy's death would give some sort of orders. They knew Allen's absolute sense of honor could easily pose a problem. The guards said nothing, nodding slightly to Allen as he opened the door and stepped into Dilandau's new prison.

The room still held the trappings of a royal room. There were two fine tapestries on the wall and a plush scarlet and gold rug covering the floor. The wide window let light spill over the entire room, making it feel bright and cheerful. It had, however, been fitted with a menacing grid of bars, drilled directly into the stone of the wall.

The four poster bed had been moved from the center of the room to the far corner, putting Dilandau in a position where he had nowhere to run if he woke up. Starting with stone on two sides and guards with bayonets closing the other two was not a good launching point of escape.

A quiet voice came from the bedside. "Allen?"

Allen snapped to attention. He hadn't expected anyone else to be in the room. He looked immediately to the bedside. The generals must be very sure of their victorious outcome to be so open with admittance.

Aristae sat at the edge, Dilandau's still body beside her, beneath the blankets. The tight line of her lips and questing look in her eyes said it all. This was no war criminal to her, this was a young boy who was ill.

"Aristae, what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry Sir Allen." Duran interjected, stepping away from the far wall. "I was told not to allow her to bother you, but no one said anything about her visiting the prisoner."

"Bother me?" Allen said, confused. "Who gave you that order?"

"Princess Eries," Duran admitted. "She wanted you to have a clear head with the generals."

"So I decided to see," she paused. "The prisoner, instead."

"The guards did not stop us at the door. I assumed-"

Allen shot Duran a look that silenced him on the spot. "You're not in trouble, Duran. I would, however, like you to leave."

Duran managed a choked, "Yes sir," and fled the room.

Allen turned back to Aristae, letting out a measured sigh. "He's a good boy, a good escort. But he has a tendency to say things when he shouldn't."

Aristae nodded. "I know. But that's how I've gotten what information I have thus far."

"I'm sure." Allen said as he pulled a chair from the opposite corner to the bedside. "But you could have asked me."

Aristae gave a small snort. Ask him? It would have been easy to ask him if they would have let her see him. Not that she had asked until today, but there was a growing sense of secrecy among the palace staff which she had just begun to understand. She was someone who was not in the loop of palace gossip, and it was supposed to stay that way. As for her talking to Allen, it made sense. He was not going to be dishonest with her and there were apparently those who wished his honesty to stay out of the way.

Allen looked down at Dilandau, noting the twisted angle of his right wrist. A thick shackle held it chained to the post with no more than a couple inches slack in the chain. His hand looked pale and bloodless against the crisp white linens of the pillow. Allen was sure the limb was prickly and asleep.

"So, what's going on?" Aristae ventured carefully. "Between the guards, the bars on the windows, the bed tether and the hush hush meetings. I'm thinking there's a lot I don't know."

Allen side-stepped the question. "Has he changed at all since you saw him last?"

She looked at Allen, a little surprised that he didn't want to talk to her about it. She thought that of all the people here, he would be straight forward with her. She let it go though, looking instead to the sleeping soldier.

He looked as pale as he had before, though less corpse like. There was a little color at his cheeks and under the blankets he didn't look quite as cold. His cheeks looked a little hollowed and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes. "He looks thinner and tired."

"He hasn't awoken since we found him."

"I know. It's a mystery though." She put a hand against the side of his face, moving her fingers carefully through his silver hair. "It's not like he hit his head. Not that I know of anyway."

"I have a doctor coming up. Maybe he'll have some more answers."

"What about the doctor who saw him after we found him?"

Allen frowned deeply. "That doctor lost his family to this boy and his slayers. I decided not to tell him that we knew who it was. Luckily the guards followed my lead."

"Ah, good to know."

"That man would have just as soon poisoned him as giving an accurate diagnosis." It was a hard admission, but it was true. Doctor Chio had to treat his wife's burns from the attack and watched as her body slowly shut down. It took her almost two weeks to finally die. The man was destroyed. He would be one who would look forward to the execution. He was one of the many who sought bloody justice. Allen couldn't really blame him.

There was a long silence. Each lost in their own thoughts of the past and present. Allen did not envy Dilandau's position at all. If he woke up, he would be killed. If he remained asleep, he would be killed and not even know. Aristae wasn't sure what they were thinking of doing to the boy. He was under very heavy guard for someone so young. She had been told of his crimes and understood there would be punishment. Deep inside she knew there was a good chance they would want to execute him. The culture she had seen reflected that sort of punishment.

A deep creaking noise broke the heavy silence of the room and the doctor slipped inside. Allen stood immediately, giving the doctor a respectful nod.

The doctor responded with an awkward half bow, tipping his thick glasses back onto his nose. He looked to be very old, with white showing in the stubble of his beard. As he shuffled closer, the aged spots on his heavily veined hands only added conviction to Aristae's perception of his age.

"Sir Allen," He said in a gruff tone. "It's been a long time, boy."

"Yes Doctor Flail, it certainly has."

The doctor all but pushed by Aristae, who scooted a bit farther down the bed. She got the distinct feeling she was not 'in the room' as far as he was concerned. As to why that was, she would have to wait and ask Allen. She thought it very rude.

"So who is this we have here?" the doctor asked. "He looks very unwell." The doctor chuckled at his own pitiful joke. "Which is why you called me, am I right? Oh Allen, I am practically an oracle."

Allen took a moment to compose his words. With such an unusual case he felt he needed to be very clear about the circumstances. "This is Dilandau Albatou, the..." He stopped. "The spirit who was trapped inside my sister."

Doctor Flail seemed to get very interested, hovering over the unmoving form like a predator. "Oh really? How very interesting, who pulled him out? How did they get him out so completely? This is the work of a master conjurer."

Allen motioned to Aristae. "She did, I think."

Aristae smiled nervously. It wasn't exactly true, or untrue either. She wasn't really sure what happened. "I'm not really sure."

"You think, as in not sure? What do you mean? I worked hours on Selena Schezar to get this monster out, and here you have him in another body, complete, and you don't know what you did?"

Aristae shrugged. That night had been so chaotic and after Selena tried to drown her. It was all a dark blur of cold water and black night.

"Where'd you get the body to put the spirit it? Why not dispel it completely?"

She shook her head. "I didn't get a body. This is... his body. I mean, I don't know. It all kinda just happened without me."

Allen put a hand on the doctor's shoulder, making him pause in his interrogation. "Dilandau has not woken up since we found him."

The doctor shoved Allen's hand away, sending a dagger-like glare at the knight, "Of course he hasn't. You can't just make a body out of nothing and expect it to work right away!" The doctor pointed an accusing finger at Aristae, "This was very irresponsible magic! You should not have been able to do it in the first place and given that you apparently COULD do it, you should not have!"

Allen tried to draw the doctor's attention back, "So what does this mean for him? Is he ever going to wake up?"

The doctor tore his glasses off his face, rubbing them furiously on a handkerchief from his pocket. "Oh, he'll wake up all right. But the real question here is Selena. Did she suffer any ill effects from this, this, this butchery?"

"She's been weak, but gets stronger by the day and is expected to be just fine."

The doctor seemed calmed somewhat. "Hm, well that's good. I'd hate to see such a pretty flower wilted over this loose cannon madoushi."

"Madoushi? What the Hell?" Aristae growled. She didn't know what that was, but it sounded like an insult.

"You see," the doctor continued. "The energy to recreate this boy's body around his spirit should have come from Selena. It could have easily killed her and should have made her very ill at the very least, if it was an even split."

The doctor pulled the covers back from Dilandau's body, unlacing his undershirt easily to get at his chest. Taking a black oval stone from his black bag, the doctor placed it at the center of Dilandau's chest. It began to glow a deep red, pulsing in slow time with his heartbeat, but quickly dimmed to a quiet yellow that barely shivered with each beat. "This was certainly not an even split. It really should not have been possible at all."

"What does that mean?" Aristae queried, feeling nauseated at the thought that she had done something very wrong.

"The bright side is that you gave Selena the lion's share of her life force. There should not have been anywhere near enough left to create this body. He must have an extremely strong will and spirit."

"You said he'd wake up?" Allen cut in. There was a hearing and execution to worry about, and he needed to know what sort of time he had to work with.

"He may awaken today, tomorrow, next month or in ten years. Of course he won't last that long without some sort of nourishment, but until he actually dies of dehydration or hunger he will stay as he is."

"What is keeping him asleep?" asked Aristae.

"You didn't give him enough to really survive, so his body is trying to pick up where you left off."

"I don't even know where I left off. I don't even think I did this."

"You can play innocent if it makes you feel better." the doctor sighed. "But that doesn't change anything. He's trying to rebuild himself and since I am not sure what you did or how you did it, I don't know how long that will take."

Allen's mind was a buzz with the options which were coming to light. If Dilandau starved to death, there wouldn't be a hearing or an execution. He would not have to see Dilandau hung by the neck, unaware as the little life he had was strangled from him. But as long as he continued to take water it could take weeks for him to finally starve. Was that really better?

Allen shot back to the conversation as Aristae spoke up, "You're saying you can wake him up."

Yes, I can infuse enough energy through him to get him conscious, but that has its own complications."

"Like what?"

"I can't build his body any faster than it wants to go. The energy would be to his mind, his spirit. He'll be very fragile until his body catches up."

"How long will that be?" Aristae pressed.

"I have no idea." the doctor removed the stone from Dilandau's chest, carelessly folding the edges of his undershirt back over his chest.

Allen grabbed the blankets and gently placed them back over the motionless soldier's body. "I'll discuss this with the generals tomorrow morning. We'll decide what to do then."

"As you wish Sir Allen." The doctor said professionally, all his earlier fire evaporating into a polite facade. After all, this was the part where he got paid.

Allen pressed a gold coin to Doctor Flail's palm, "Thank you for coming and for your advice."

There was an unspoken understanding that the doctor would wait for Allen to call upon him again, depending on what the generals decided. That also meant that he would not go to anyone else with his findings. "Your loyal service is always appreciated."

"Always, Sir Allen." The doctor smiled. "Always."


	16. Shadow War: Part 16

Doctor Flail entered the War Room quietly, stepping forward a couple steps as the heavy wooden doors were closed behind him. The windowless room smelled of parchment and ink, lending testament to the multitude of map scrolls which were housed at the far end as well as on the walls. The movement of the Zaibach army was monitored here and the subsequent counter attacks planned and decided here as well. It was a room for military men, not a room for a doctor. However, Flail understood the high stakes game of peace as much as the military understood war.

"I examined the boy." Flail said coldly. "If you want to hear about it."

Movement from beyond the scroll case caught the doctor's attention. The military generals had decided to keep their end of the agreement, despite Flail's misgivings. Pais and Galer came around the case like a pair of shadow panthers, dark and foreboding. Their chilled smiles could be seen across the room, even by the aged eyes of the doctor.

"We would very much like to hear what you've discovered, Flail." Pais said. "Please sit and tell us."

Galer reached back into one of the scroll cubbies, bringing out a lovely bottle of Vino and a small sack of gold coins. "I say we have a little drink while we talk this over."

Flail let a slyness creep across his face. Loyalty to Allen had always been of moderate importance to him, but the prospect of wealth and political power was more so. After all, what better loyalty was there than being loyal to yourself?

Sorry this one is SO short, but was unhappy about chapter 15 (which is, by the way, now up and running PROPERLY). So this tiny chapter 16 is in use to:

1. Make you go back and read chapter 15 (which you probably didn't get an alert for).

2. Segue into Chapter 17, which will be posted soon. )

3. Ensure an alert was sent that new chapters have been posted.


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